


Experience

by musesmistress



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-14
Updated: 2013-02-14
Packaged: 2017-11-29 06:22:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 54,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/683827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musesmistress/pseuds/musesmistress
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ronon wants Elizabeth to try something new, he didn't expect to give her this much!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

‘Ronon,’ Elizabeth protested following her mate through the corridors of the city to an open spot by the south pier. ‘I don’t think this...’

‘You agreed,’ he said and stopped to face her, his arms instantly going around her waist, ‘I won’t go anywhere we’re likely to get caught,’ he promised her.

She didn’t say anything; she wanted to push him away and run back to the populated sections of the city, back to his room and take him as she had done most nights since their first time together. But she had promised him, had agreed to play his games, experiment a little.

‘Just through here,’ he said pulling her along and out the door to stop behind a bench on an open balcony. The view was amazing; the slowly setting sun still out of their view but the haze of the evening had begun to set in.

Ronon guided her to sit down, her back to the door they had stepped through. He sat beside her, one leg on either side of the bench so he was facing her side and watched as she took in the view.

Moments passed before he reached out and ran his rough fingers over her cheek to turn her face to his. His eyes capturing hers for a moment before he whispered to her.

‘You’re beautiful, my love.’

She could feel her own cheeks redden in the blush he always managed to create and leaned towards him for a kiss. This she could do anywhere, she could even be so bold as to kiss him in front of others, but he had become frustrated that she would not have sex anywhere but their rooms.

He grazed his hands down her neck and over her chest until his fingers could wrap around her breast. Predictably she pulled back, seizing his hand in hers and separating it from her body.

‘Ronon,’ her shy demeanour had resurfaced, it had taken him months to break through it, to get her first kiss, to see her body, to touch her, ‘I really don’t think this is a good idea.’

‘OK,’ he said and pulled up to step off the bench and move to the doorway.

‘Ronon, don’t,’ he stopped and turned back. ‘I just can’t,’ she tried.

‘Why not?’ he asked moving back to sit across the bench, ‘no one is going to come down here; it will just be me and you, as if we’re in our room.’

Elizabeth turned, swinging one leg over the bench and leaned back against him.

‘You have to give me time,’ she told him, taking his hands and pulling them onto her stomach. ‘I just need a little time to get used to this.’

Ronon pulled her close, pressing his body against her back, he was in no doubt that she could feel his erection pressed along her back and knew the gasp she let out was a result of that knowledge. He didn’t dare move his hands just yet so instead he leaned his head down to suck at the soft flesh on her neck.

Another groan escaped her lips and encouraged by her reaction, Ronon began to shift his hands, digging his fingers into her stomach gently to gather up her t-shirt until he could flatten his palms out onto the firm belly below.

He shifted his head to a sensitive spot on her neck, just above her collar bone and played his tongue along it several times as he began to draw random patterns on her stomach moving languidly up to her breasts.

‘Keep your eyes closed,’ he whispered into her ear as his fingers worked their way under her t-shirt to cup her cotton covered breasts. ‘We’re just in our room,’ he continued occasionally dipping back to tease the spot on her neck.

He slipped his fingers up over the top of her bra and ghosted them over the flesh of them, as he came closer to her arms; he eased them under the material continuing to find things to whisper into her ear to ease the tension of their exposed location.

Before he could dip his hands under the material and begin playing with her nipples, Ronon was forced to take a sharp intake of breath. Elizabeth had snaked her arms around behind her back and squeezed gently at his thighs, she knew him well enough to know that the touch was less of a tease than being close to receiving it.

‘Take off your shirt,’ he breathed down her neck wanting to see her give into their situation on her own and at the same time not willing to move his hands from her breasts. As she moved, he managed to dip his hands low enough to flick across her hardened nipples and was pleased when she faltered and sucked in a harsh shuddering breath.

‘Your turn,’ she said quietly as she held her red uniform shirt out at arms’ length in the direction of the door and teasingly released it to the ground.

‘This first,’ Ronon said flicking at the middle of her bra to indicate she should continue to take her own clothes off.

‘Not fair,’ she said, turning her head to look at him.

‘I have half as many items on as you do,’ he teased, ‘I should get two items for one of mine.’

She chuckled as he leaned in to rub his lips over hers lightly, he loved the feel of her laughing against him, her body vibrating over him, her lips tight in a smile and he’d pick up the sensation of the laugh from her breath.

‘Who’s the negotiator here?’ she muttered before capturing his lips and he let out a laugh of his own.

He would have come up with a response had she not reached up and wrapped her hands around his, giving herself a squeeze with his hands before turning her fingers to the clasp in the middle of her garment.

As she separated the item and slipped her arms out of it he caught sight of something out the corner of his eyes and was very thankful that Elizabeth had turned her head to gaze at him towards the ocean view and not the door.

Out the side of his view, as he gave Elizabeth’s nipples some sharp pinches, Ronon could see someone standing looking through the glass door, he couldn’t quite make out who it was as the person had stepped back slightly, covering themselves in a shadow.

He ignored them, considering that a voyeur to their teasing could do one of two things, if Elizabeth caught sight of them, she could completely lose it, and would never agree to anything like this again.

Or he could use this to his advantage of expanding her experiences and slowly ease her into the knowledge of their whereabouts and perhaps even get them involved.

For now, he was too preoccupied with her body as she arched her back, thrusting her chest into his hands as she kissed him.

He gave her pert nipples another pinch before he pushed his hands down over them and over her stomach to her pants. He fumbled with the button for a moment before she caught him.

‘Shirt first,’ she said with a smile that could have made him melt. ‘This is a two for one offer,’ she added as she turned in the seat enough to watch him quickly doff the loose shirt and drop it to the ground.

Before she could move back to her previous position, Ronon ducked his head down ran his tongue over her shoulder, using the contact to chance a glance back at the door. The military boots of the person standing with legs apart were clearly visible, but still Ronon couldn’t see beyond their waist, he had no idea what colour their shirt was and therefore no narrowed idea of who could be watching them.

He ran his hands over her stomach and back pulling her back to his shoulder so she still wouldn’t be able to see their viewer. He teased back down to her pants and persuaded her button open before slipping the zipper lazily down.

His fingers made their way inside and he ran them lazily over the cotton of her underwear. Before he could reach her sex, he moved his hands to the sides and dipped a single digit down the creases between her sex and her thighs.

Elizabeth groaned, her head dropping back to his shoulder and to his horror turned away from him and towards the door. He looked; the person was cleanly out of sight, no longer standing in a half shadow, but now standing almost fully in it. Ronon could still make out the boots but nothing more.

Luckily, Elizabeth turned back to him and drank a kiss from his lips. He made sure it was a pleasurable kiss as he pulled his hands back over her hips and out from under her clothes.

‘Take off your boots,’ he said turning her deliberately to face the ocean. As she took off hers, he quickly pulled his off leaving one on either side of the bench. 

~~**~~

He didn’t know what possessed him to stop. He should have just carried on, but he didn’t. He stood in the shadows, a strain in his pants at the slowly growing erection that pushed against them. The door to the balcony he passed on his route was thankfully closed otherwise, he was sure the odd moan from either the couple on the other side or himself would carry to respective ears.

He thought a moment ago that Ronon had seen him, standing in the shadow, shifting uncomfortably as he resisted the urge to rub himself through his combat pants. 

He’d been jogging passed as he spotted something out the corner of his eye, the red shirt of a command position person being pulled off. As she’d held it out to her side and released it, he had glanced at her face, leaning back on his shoulder.

‘Elizabeth,’ he had groaned and his eyes had darted back to her chest where Ronon’s hands were shifting under her bra.

He had shrunk back; disappearing quickly into the shadow of the dark corridor and praying to anything that would listen that they wouldn’t or couldn’t see him.

He watched a small exchange between them before Elizabeth reached out and pressed his hands against her breasts before unhooking the clasp and easing it from her own body. It had been at this point that he’d mistakenly taken a step forward; he’d wanted a better view of her breasts.

He hadn’t gotten it then, Ronon’s hands covered them and took away his view of her firm flesh and nipples. It was moments later that Ronon’s hands had drifted down her body to her pants that he was able to fix his gaze on her erect nipples and as a result of the view he had grown explicitly uncomfortable in the pants area.

He’d had to force himself to step back again as Elizabeth stopped Ronon from taking off her pants and instead turned her back to him. He watched her back, running his eyes down the visible ridges of her spine as Ronon removed his shirt. 

He’d frozen when Ronon had licked across her shoulder, considering that the man was watching him instead of the light flesh he was tasting. But then he’d gone back to pulling Elizabeth against him, now bare chest and moving back to undo her pants.

He’d frozen again as Elizabeth’s head had dropped back and turned to face him, her eyes closed in pleasure and John had wanted to explode as he watched the expression on her face. She was undeniably beautiful sitting in her office on a normal day, she was god damn sexy when flushed and being teased.

“Neither of them has seen me so far, so neither of them is likely to see me,” he thought as they started to undo their boots. He took the opportunity to slip his hand down to his crotch and squeeze himself through the material of his pants.

~~**~~

Ronon stood up before she finished taking off her boots and moved to stand in front of her. He reached down to her as she pushed the last boot and sock to the side and pulled her to her feet in front of him.

He leaned forward, sucking a nipple into his mouth as he peeked over her shoulder at their voyeur. They still stood in the shadows, but Ronon could now see for sure that it was a guy, the hand pressed to a budge in their pants was the giveaway.

Hearing Elizabeth moan above him, he dragged his eyes back up her to look at her face, eyes closed in pleasure as he flicked his tongue over the hardened bud. He snaked his hands down her sides and pushed her pants off her hips before helping her to step out of them.

He wanted to make sure their viewer got a good view of her ass before he sat her back down. He switched breasts as he ran his hands down her back to cup her buttocks and heard her hiss at the contact.

Her hands tugged him back up by the hair to her mouth and his hands were forced off her buttocks because of their difference in height. He drifted them up her back, playing his fingers over her spine, before he dropped the kiss to her shoulder and dragged her cotton panties off her hips and down her legs so she could step out of them.

He returned his hands to her buttocks again and squeezed tightly, pulling her body tight against him and lifting her feet off the ground. In the action, Elizabeth wrapped her arms around his neck and her lips came in contact with soft skin below his ear. It was then that he decided he was going to make their watcher’s presence known.

Ronon glanced back up, holding her close to him, and caught sight of the man’s hair before he lowered Elizabeth back to the bench. He took his own pants off and sat back behind her both once again straddling the bench; he slipped his legs under hers and parted her knees over his own to open her up to him.

His hands dragged roughly over the skin of her chest, down over her tight nipples and stomach before he dipped a finger between her open legs and into her sex. She arched up into him and her head dropped to his shoulder and turned into his neck. He turned his own head so he could whisper in her ear.

‘We’re being watched,’ he said and coyly slid his finger into her warm and wet tunnel. ‘Sheppard’s watching me finger you.’

‘Ronon,’ she whimpered in a small beg for him to stop, but he didn’t, he wanted her to have this experience.

‘I think he should join us.’

He didn’t get the choice this time; her hands grabbed him and pulled his hands from her sex. He was surprised, instead of moving as he had expected her to do, get up, dress, shout at him then at John Sheppard as she left; she just sat there.

To her left, just off the side of her vision, she was watching him, the tall strong commander of the military contingent stood there. He was mostly in shadow, hidden all but his ankles and boots and the movement of his right hand as it rubbed up and down against his obvious erection.

‘I bet he’s thinking about how it feels to be deep inside you,’ Ronon whispered hoping to encourage her to agree. He wouldn’t dare let the man touch him, but he could – for her knowledge and experience – let him touch her; just once. ‘Wondering what your nipples taste like,’ he added.

‘Ronon,’ she hissed a warning at him, but her hands had dragged his down her stomach slightly and he knew she longed to be touched again.

‘I wouldn’t suggest it, if I didn’t think it was good for you.’

He dipped his hands lower against her stomach, resting on the lowest point and momentarily losing himself in the thought of her stomach raised with his child inside. He snapped back as she groaned and he found her hands were no longer on his, she was teasing at her own thighs; her head back on his shoulder as she moved.

‘Two men for your pleasure,’ he teased and dipped his finger back into her sex. She arched instantly and then quickly pulled him back out. ‘Will you let me?’

She nodded and he watched the blush that ran quickly across her cheeks. Ronon moved his hand down over her hips and thighs to her knees and he pushed them together, resting her legs on the bench before he kissed at her neck and turned his face to door.

~~**~~

John moaned; his eyes fixed on what he could see of her sex as Ronon’s finger disappeared into its depth. The pressure in his cock was growing painful and he watched as suddenly she pulled his hands away.

He assumed she’d stopped him from making her come and a low groan escaped as he dropped his head, he couldn’t get rid of the thought of what pressure she’d been placing on that single finger that could have made her that sensitive to lose it that quickly.

He glanced back up and started, Elizabeth had turned her face towards Ronon and away from him, her legs stretched out on the bench ahead of her. Ronon on the other hand, was staring at him. John stopped the movements of his hand and prayed that he’d heard him, but not seen him.

No such luck.

Ronon’s hand stretched out and he motioned for John to come in. John thought he was seeing things, was he being invited in? Or was he going to go in and find himself dead before he blinked?

Ronon repeated the action and John’s legs took a tentative step forward, his eyes fixed on the hand of the man as it drifted up her stomach to pinch at a nipple. He stepped forward again and the door slid easily open to admit him.

He took one last step into the room and waited.

~~**~~

‘You’re over dressed Sheppard,’ Ronon said, returning his eyes to the beautiful woman still sat between his legs. His other hand came up to tease the other nipple and Elizabeth groaned in pleasure without meaning too.

‘I... erm,’ Ronon turned back to look at him, sizing him up before he turned back to Elizabeth. ‘I...’ he cleared his throat noisily.

‘You wouldn’t have stayed to watch if you didn’t want to touch her Sheppard.’

Ronon moved his hands, running them back down her stomach to tease just above her sex. He whispered for her to leave her legs where they were and moved to ghost his touch down her legs.

Out the corner of his eye, John took a step forward and slightly to the side adjusting his position so he could get a better view of Elizabeth’s naked form.

‘If you plan to stay, you have to take your clothes off,’ he told the man and watched as Elizabeth shifted to push back against him, her right hand disappearing from John’s view to wrap around his length.

‘Liz’beth,’ John asked and Ronon heard him half caught on her name, he wanted to make sure she was okay with this. Ronon himself had been very aware that Elizabeth hadn’t acknowledged him being there, she’s focused herself on him so far.

She nodded against his chest and felt her shudder as he dragged his fingers lightly back up the crease of her joined thighs.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched John start to take off his clothes and instantly turned his attention back to Elizabeth.

‘Where would you like him to touch you first?’ Ronon asked in a whisper loud enough for John to hear. He listened as John faltered in undressing, he had been moving so slowly still unsure of the invite. ‘Your legs?’ he asked running gruff fingers over her legs. ‘Your stomach?’ he teased them up her belly and knew John was watching as she shuddered and squirmed. ‘Your breasts?’ he teased a nipple, as he glanced at John.

He chuckled as he moved his hand back down his path, he heard John’s boots hit the floor and knew he had sped up in stripping down.

‘Or your pussy?’ he asked, parting her legs as he heard Sheppard’s pants hit the ground. He tugged her knees back over his, putting them back in their original position and caught John moving a step to his left so he could look down at her open sex.

He felt Elizabeth’s breath hitch as he ran his hand back across her stomach and knew she was having an internal battle. She had had it their first time, he had been teasing her pussy with his fingers and asking to taste her and she’d been torn between agreeing and asking him to stop.

‘Look at him Elizabeth,’ he told her and felt her head turn as she moved to face her second in command. ‘Where would you like him to touch you?’

‘Breasts,’ she breathed and Ronon instantly moved his hands to rest on her arms for a moment before running them down to take her hands in his. 

~~**~~

Elizabeth was watching him, her eyes fixed pleadingly on his face, but he couldn’t tell if she was begging him to touch her, or begging for him to leave. She was nervous, John could see that and Ronon seemed to sense it too, or he wouldn’t have been guiding her like he was.

He wanted to talk, ask her if she was sure about this, ask her if she didn’t just want him to leave and pretend he hadn’t seen a thing. Instead his body over shadowed his mind and his hand reached down and he felt his fingers brush against a very erect nipple.

‘You okay?’ he asked seeing her face turn away from him and hearing her breath catch again. He watched his fingers still brushing her nipple, as she turned back to look at him and nodded.

He licked his lips before crouching at her side, his attention held firm on her full breasts as he moved from the light touch to pinching lightly at the bud. She groaned and John’s eyes flew up to her face in fear. Instead of seeing the expected pain, there was only pleasure on her face, eyes closed, face still turned towards him and lips parted just slightly. 

He longed to reach up and kiss her, but knew that he was but a mere guest in this game and kept his wants to himself. Thinking of something better he moved his face down to her breast and wrapped his lips around the pert nipple.

Another moan and John felt Ronon’s hand slip across her stomach beneath him. John tugged at her other nipple with his fingers as he sucked liberally on the flesh, he breathed in, taking the scent of her body so close and instead of breathing in what he thought her skin would be like, he took in a strong breath of her arousal.

He moved back and looked down her body, her chest flushed in pleasure. One of Ronon’s hands was running lazily across her stomach, the other had dipped down between her legs and was stroking along her folds.

As he watched, Ronon pulled his hand away from her and raised it to his own lips, it was a moment before John realised he was going to suck Elizabeth’s taste off his finger and he looked away.

‘She tastes good Sheppard,’ he said coyly and John watched Elizabeth shift and turn her head to watch him sucking on his finger before he removed it and returned it to her sex lips.

He felt his cock twitch as she let out a constant moan at his touch and wished instantly that he’d removed his boxers as well.

‘Have a taste,’ Ronon said raising his hand back up to his lips and John almost jumped. ‘It won’t take much to push her over the edge,’ he added his hands going down to her breasts instead and John looked down at Elizabeth now squirming lightly under his touch.

John moved down to the end of the bench between her legs and looked down, her pink folds were parted and waiting. He could see her juices on them and licked his lips eagerly. He looked back up at Elizabeth for permission and found her watching him, she nodded and John swallowed hard against the tightness now forming in his balls.

He leaned down, his hands on the bench as he didn’t want to place them on her thighs just yet. He considered this stupid for a second as he came in close to her sex and was about to run his tongue along her most private area.

He shifted a hand, placing the tips of his fingers on the crease between her right leg and sex and heard a very loud and long moan escape from above. He looked up; her hands were holding tight to Ronon’s at her hips, her face turned to his in a long deep kiss.

He couldn’t believe he was doing this, he hadn’t even known they were together, but it seemed they had been for some time now. Yet here he was with them on a balcony about to suck on his boss’s clit.

His cock twitched in appreciation of the thought and John gave in. He leaned in, feeling the end of the bench against his stomach and ran the tip of his tongue along her labia.

‘Oh god,’ Elizabeth moaned and John darted his eyes up to see her drop her head back and break their kiss.

He repeated the move a few more times before he became daring, using his fingers to part her lips he tickled at her clit for a few moments, revelling in the feel of her hips rising from the surface. She bucked as he sucked her in and he listened to the music of her moans as she practically wailed her approval.

He pulled back, giving her a chance to breathe and shifted his stance, his knees were hurting but he didn’t care about that; the ache in his penis was far worse.

He ran a finger through her folds and dipped inside her, she stiffened and he pulled back.

‘No,’ she breathed and he looked up in time to see her shyly look away from him, her lips were tightly held together as if the word had escaped her lips without her permission.

‘Do it Sheppard,’ Ronon said and John returned his eyes back to beautiful flower of her sex.

He dipped his finger back inside her and felt no resistance this time, as he pushed in he felt her walls start to clench around him. He looked back up and found them kissing again. Elizabeth’s chest was heaving with the effort of keeping the kiss and the pleasure she was experiencing.

He began to move his finger, slipping it easily in and out of her and feeling her hips push against him in counter movements. Before he moved his eyes away from her chest, he watched Ronon’s hands snake their way from her hips and up to her breasts.

Their kiss broke as he pinched at her nipples and John found Ronon looking down to meet his eyes as he listened to Elizabeth’s small whimpers of enjoyment.

Taking his cue from Ronon, John lowered his head at the same time his team mate did. Ronon’s lips meet her neck, while his lips and tongue returned to her clit and he picked up the pace of his thrusting finger. It took only moments for her to start bucking against him. 

He imagined that the feel of having Ronon sucking her neck and pinching her nipples while he fingered her and flicked his tongue at her clit was a sensory overload. It definitely sounded like it as he felt Elizabeth clench hard on his finger and scream out her orgasm.

~~**~~

Ronon felt her shift, almost as if she was melting down his body to lie on her back on the bench. His hands were still toying with her nipples, but he didn’t pinch them, he knew only too well that she was sensitive enough during sex, let alone after it.

‘Are you done Sheppard? Or would you like to try her?’

He smiled to himself as John’s mouth dropped open. Before the man could reply, Elizabeth had pulled herself up and kissed John, pulling him close to her body as she did so. He watched as she whispered into his ear and flopped back to the bench.

A low laugh left Ronon’s lips as he watched John still slack jawed staring at them.

‘Close your mouth, Sheppard, and don’t think you’ll get this offer again,’ Ronon growled as he watched the man snap his mouth shut and quickly deprive himself of his underwear.

He watched John reach out and pull Elizabeth’s legs down, shifting her buttocks down the bench to the end where she was perfectly in line for him to take. This, he reminded himself, had been the reason of this location; the possible positions of this bench were appealing to him. 

He felt Elizabeth tuck her hands under his knees, taking a firm grip on the calves of his legs as John pushed inside her.

‘Jesus,’ John breathed and Ronon quirked a brow at the word. He knew the reason for it, and his length gave a jealous flick through her splayed hair that tickled his thighs. She had been unbelievably tight when he’d first taken her over six months ago and never failed to be just as tight now.

~~**~~

John was struggling to keep himself in check, he’d never in his life been with a woman as warm and tight as Elizabeth was. He could feel the abating orgasm still teasing her body as he eased inside.

He had to close his eyes against the sensation, it was far too much and he wondered if Ronon – with seven years on the run – had managed to hold back at all when he’d first done this.

His eyes opened as he heard her let out a rumbling low moan, Ronon’s hands were travelling down her body and once again John marvelled at how easily touch could turn her into a pleasurable bowl of jelly.

He realised, as she shuddered on him and he felt her internal muscles clench, that her stomach was a very sensitive part of her body. Ronon was lingering over it, drifting his fingers along the bottom of it and easily scrapping his nails back up to her breasts before flattening his palms down to travel back towards her sex.

‘Move,’ he heard her voice deep and full of desire and John caved instantly and began thrusting at a moderate pace.

‘You can’t take his child,’ Ronon growled down at Elizabeth and John watched her, her eyes locked on Ronon’s as she shook her head at him. Her hand came up to his face and she barely breathed the words “only yours”.

John was swearing in his head, going over as many cursory words as he could think of, if he’d been invited into this with any other woman he would have found it easy to pull out as he came, but he had a very dark feeling that this wasn’t going to be the case.

Elizabeth was beautiful, he’d seen that the day he met her, she was intoxicating and as he was learning quickly as she started to clench on his now quickly thrusting length, she was tight as hell and was going to milk him for everything he had.

He began to grunt, he could feel his peak building fast, he wanted to feel her on him, but didn’t think it was going to happen. As he squeezed his eyes shut, he caught sight of Ronon’s hands, they had been resting on her stomach the whole time and one of them had begun to move down, dipping into her sex to flick at her clit.

He felt her go instantly, her second release hitting hard and fast and slammed her feet down to the ground and pushed her hips against him as she let it go. A cry of pleasure left her lips and he tried desperately to hold back the grunt that was forcing its way out of his lips as he was pushed by her tight and flexing muscles over the cliff into the best orgasm he’d had in a very long time.

He collapsed forward, thankful that Ronon had moved his hand. He flicked his tongue over her nipple as this was where his head came to rest. Her lower body was rotating under him and as he expected, she was taking everything he could give.

He pushed back after a moment and straightened up before easing slowly from her wetness. He sat back on his ankles instantly, but left his hands on her thighs, moving slowly up and down as he watched Ronon leaning down over her and capturing her lips.

~~**~~

Ronon let her relax for a moment, his lips teasing the letters of his name across her lips as he lazily kissed her. She was breathing hard and he knew it would take a moment before he could have his turn with her beautiful body.

He never let her relax too much though, when he made her come in the privacy of their room without being inside her, he always kept her on edge, his hands, as they were now, playing lightly over her body.

He grinned as he flicked a finger across each nipple a few times and let his eyes open to look down her body as he ghosted his palms down her stomach and back up her sides. Sheppard was watching him, but he didn’t care, he could watch the whole thing for all he cared. Hell he would even let him suck on her breasts if he wanted to.

He knew, as he drew his hands back up to her breasts, that when she was ready, she would move and he could tell her how he wanted to take her.

Her hands came up suddenly and pulled his concentration back to her lips. He kissed her passionately, knowing the kiss was her way of saying she could deal with him now and he leaned closer to her and whispered in her ear.

‘Lie on your front, legs on either side of the bench and watch him while I take you.’

He watched Elizabeth move gently, her slightly aching body reacting to the exercise she was experiencing. She sat up and his eyes travelled down her spine to the firm cheeks of her backside. He watched it rise as she leaned forward and pushed her self up on her feet.

She shuffled backwards into him and Ronon dipped his finger into her tunnel and received a sudden gasp of surprise. To his own delight, she was still wet and ready and he told himself it was in anticipation of feeling him inside her.

He pulled his finger from inside her and ran his hands up over her back to push her shoulders down to the bench. She dropped to her elbows and he let her go, finding this position acceptable. He moved back down her back and squeezed at her firm buttocks before giving her a light smack.

He looked up as the sound travelled the area and caught John’s eye of shock as Elizabeth groaned in pleasure. He continued, massaging her cheeks and hips and occasionally pulling her to his length and rubbing it against her lips.

‘You’re so beautiful,’ he whispered forgetting as he rubbed against her that there was another person in the room. Not that he cared at all. He could imagine the look on her face as she fixed her eyes on John, lust and desire flickering to pleasure as he rubbed her again.

‘Ronon,’ she breathed and he knew from the tone in her voice that she was where he needed her.

He shifted his hands back over her backside and took hold of her hips. He positioned himself against her entrance and shifting his feet slightly so he could stand up if needed, he began to push her back down onto him.

He caught sight of movement ahead of him and looked up as Elizabeth’s hands stretched out ahead of her to grip the edge of the bench. John’s hands had come up and he was running lazy circles up her outstretched arms.

Ronon had an advantage over John, it made him smile as he began to slowly tease his way in and out of her, lifting her hips up so he could stand and take complete control. His advantage was that he knew this woman so well, this woman he’d chosen to spend his life with. He knew how to bring her up to the height of her pleasure and keep her there until he was ready to dive off it with her.

He slowly rocked against her and looked up to catch John looking down her back at his length as it moved in and out of her body. By the look on his face, he was shocked that Ronon could get inside her, let alone move without exploding instantly.

He had to admit, it was exactly that way in the beginning, when she had relented to let him inside her, he had struggled to get the head of his manhood in, and he’d almost come from that. The pressure she held over any man in her bed was beyond words.

Back then, Ronon had been so desperate to be inside her that he’d taken her roughly and exploded the second he’d been all the way in. It had been a shock that she’d let go with him, pleasure ripping through her body loudly, he had thought he’d caused her pain, but found she was far too sensitive to take the pain as only pain.

He continued to lazily thrust into her, enjoying the lay of her body, her head against the bench, arms stretched out ahead of her, he could tell that most of her upper body was in contact with the smooth surface under her, until it came to her stomach where it lifted up suddenly, her back arched and her ass in the air.

He had taught her their second time that he liked her backside, she’d called him an ass man and they had gotten into a discussion while they teased each other who was an ass man and who was a breasts man.

Ronon has said Sheppard was an ass man, having seen him check the backside of a woman shortly after he had arrived in the city. But Elizabeth labelled him a breasts man.

He lazily ran his fingers over the slit of her backside and down her back before he looked up at John, still watching them, only now his eyes had shifted and Ronon watched as the man shifted to the side to watch one of Elizabeth’s breasts as it pushed against the bench.

He twitched inside her and she let out a long moan of pleasure and began to clench on him. He paused for a moment, shifting his legs so he could get a better position and stronger thrusts he leaned forward. He placed his hands on the edge of the bench on either side of her, his hands brushing against her stomach as he gave a test thrust against her. He groaned at the added contact and he leaned right over to kiss the back of her neck.

‘Lift up so Sheppard can play with your breasts. He seems to like them.’

He pulled back slightly, watching Elizabeth move her hands from under John’s touch and tucking her elbows back under herself. Ronon gave John a quick look before he started to thrust again creating a fast past and he felt Elizabeth shift, arching her back more to push her backside against him.

He watched John’s hand disappear under her and felt her clench on him as the other man’s hands took hold of her hanging breasts.

‘One day,’ Ronon said picking up speed as the thought of what he was going to say washed over him, ‘my child will feed on those, Sheppard.’

Elizabeth moaned under him and he felt her walls start to pulse around him. He shifted, moving one hand from the bench to flatten out on her stomach for a moment before he shifted it down and dipped a finger into her wet lips.

She screamed as pleasure over took her and Ronon dropped his head to her back as she took over thrusting, pulling tight over him and starting the milking motions he enjoyed so much. He held back as long as possible, enjoying the sensation of her, it wasn’t until she gave a sharp push against him that he let go.

He pushed up on her hips and thrust hard and fast into her as he let everything flow into her willing body. They collapsed on the bench together and Ronon rocked into her a few more times before he kissed her shoulder and, watching the shock on John’s face as he did so, told her what she needed to hear.

‘I love you.’


	2. Chapter 2

She struggled just slightly against the cloth, it held firm to her wrists causing a momentary slip of panic to wash over her, but she pushed it aside. He wouldn’t hurt her, she knew that, but it didn’t change the fact that she was still a little bit scared of her current situation.

Elizabeth lay on her back on Ronon’s bed, her hands tied to the headboard above her and her sight captured by the blindfold lying softly over her eyes.

He said he wouldn’t be gone more than an hour, but she was sure it had been more than that and even thinking back over the pleasure he’d caused taking off her clothes and putting her into this position no longer provided comfort.

She’d stepped into his room, sneaked in was more appropriate as the city’s people still didn’t know about them, and found herself instantly glued to his lips, just like every other night. It was comfortable, they were comfortable, their relationship growing and expanding as they took each day. Even the experience of Ronon taking her to a public balcony and taking off her clothes or even inviting John Sheppard to join them hadn’t fazed her. She loved Ronon; there was no way around it.

He’d asked, as he always did, if they could try something new, and before she could agree, he’d promised, again as he always did, that he wouldn’t hurt her or do anything to compromise her leadership. This scared her each time, but with each time she’d agreed, she’d learned that he would not lie to her; so she agreed again.

It had been a little daunting as he’d asked for permission to blindfold her, but she’d nodded and from that point on it had been a welcome thing, especially since he took to slowly undressing her and running his hands and tongue over everything he exposed. Except of course, the places she wanted to be touched.

He’d led her to the bed, not far behind her and positioned her on it with ease, before whispering in her ear in a low tone that threatened to undo her there and then that she should put her hands up and take hold of the bars of the headboard.

She’d done this without question, but as soon as she’d felt the cloth on her wrists she’d asked him, almost begged him, almost pulled away and taken off the material over her eyes. But he’d promised her no harm and she trusted him.

She just wished he’d hurry up and come back.

The thought of him walking back in to see her sprawled on the bed, tied to the headboard without sight and squirming at his lingering touch just made the memories of his touch all the more pleasurable and the patch of dampness between her legs was growing quickly.

Oh how she wished he’d hurry and come back.

~~**~~

He couldn’t believe it; it had to be a dream, just like the last time. Although the last time was by accident, this was done on purpose.

Ronon had sought him out, found him in the middle of a chess game against Zelenka and pulled him aside as once again Zelenka beat him. He had expected a small favour or even the request to spar a little, but not what he had actually be asked. 

He couldn’t possibly have heard right.

‘Would you like a taste of her again, Sheppard,’ he’d asked in a hushed tone and John had instinctively looked over his shoulder at the scientist who was resetting the board.

When he turned back to his friend he could see the eagerness in his eyes, knew that what he’d said had really left his lips. But it didn’t help him believe it any more. He must have looked shocked or even confused as Ronon pulled him further away from the group of players and added to his statement.

‘She’s waiting,’ he started, ‘in my room, naked and blindfolded.’

‘What...’ he couldn’t have found words to form the question in his head if he’d wanted too.

‘She’s too bland in her experience,’ he explained, ‘I want her to experience more while she can.’

“While she can”? It took him a moment to remember what he’d said to Elizabeth when John has pushed his throbbing length into his best friend’s mate. “You can’t take his child”.

The memory of that moment two weeks ago on a public balcony controlled his body’s response, he felt himself harden at the thought of being back in the depths of his leader; tight and very wet from a first orgasm. But it was something else Ronon had said that day that made him stop.

‘I thought I wouldn’t get that offer again,’ he said with a confused look. Ronon merely smirked at him and turned away.

After a few steps and just as John was turning back to the table Ronon called over to him.

‘Offer’s only open for the next five minutes Sheppard.’

John froze, his fingers twitching, he wanted to go, wanted to believe that what had just happened had actually happened. Radek was eyeing him suspiciously, almost knowingly and then he nodded at him.

‘I want a rematch,’ John said as he turned from the man and took off through the room to follow Ronon.

He was keeping a few paces behind him, still completely unsure of the reason he’d been asked and far from trusting his own hearing that he’d heard right any of what had happened. She was naked and tied to his bed? He was being offered the chance to touch her again? It was all so unreal.

He looked around, watching someone who passed him as he reached Ronon’s door and almost jumped when he stopped dead Ronon standing in front of him waiting. He hadn’t paid attention and seen the alien stop.

‘Don’t speak, don’t make a sound,’ he said reaching out to the control panel. ‘She doesn’t know you’re coming.’

~~**~~

Ronon looked down the corridor, checking ahead and behind him before he tapped the panel to open the door to his room. He grabbed John and shoved him inside before closing the door quickly behind him.

‘Ronon?’

He shifted at the sound of her voice, somewhere between fear and arousal, it made the sight of her squirming on his sheets all that more enticing. He pulled his shirt off as he replied.

‘I’m here beautiful,’ he said nodding at John to make sure he understood to take his clothes off too. He undid his own pants as he moved around the bed and placed a careful kiss on her lips. ‘Do you trust me?’

‘With my life,’ she breathed as he ran his fingers down her neck towards her breasts. He gave her nipples a quick flick before sucking one into his mouth. She groaned and out of the corner of his eye, Ronon watched John pause, his pants halfway down his thighs and his eyes fixed on the erect nipple he was neglecting.

‘Spread your legs so I can see you properly,’ he said as he switched nipples. He gave it a little attention before he pulled up from the bed and moved to stand near the end.

Catching John’s eye Ronon indicated to her spread legs. He watched as the man swallowed, his eyes fixed on the sex of his commanding officer as she squirmed impatiently on the bed. Ronon saw him look unsurely back at him so he nodded and moved a step back from the bed.

~~**~~

No way was this real; he was dreaming had to be. Ronon was indicating for him to literally taste her. For over a week since their last invitation John had been woken each night remembering her taste, her smell and the pressure of her coming on his length. He’d wanted it, he still did, but he couldn’t believe for a second he was actually here doing this again.

He took one last look at his teammate, now standing in the corner, before he moved forward. One knee on the bed, then the other, and his hands came down to the sheets just on the inside of her thighs as he leaned carefully forward. He avoided touching her, just for a moment, wondering if this had been Ronon’s plan. 

Would she know it was him?

Would she be able to tell the difference between his technique and the man she’s shared a bed with for god knows how long?

Flattening himself on the bed between her spread limbs, John wondered how long it would take her to realise it wasn’t her lover eating her, so he started small and teasingly.

His tongue flicked out, the tip just brushing her pussy lips. She reared up, hips flexing at the small touch and John pushed back slightly to stop her skin coming in contact with him. She settled back and John repeated the motion, she lifted up once more and pushed forward towards him. 

He couldn’t hide the smirk, she was desperate for more contact and he loved the reaction it was causing. He stole a glace towards Ronon and found the man smirking just as much.

He repeated the step again and as Elizabeth pushed up this time, he took as much of her as he could into his mouth and played his tongue along her lips before repeating the movement with enough pressure to part her sex lips for him.

He fought back the urge to moan against her as she started to pant and groan loudly at his assault on her body. He could feel her pulsing beneath him clamping on his tongue as he dipped it quickly into her tunnel.

He pulled back for a moment before concentrating on her clit and letting one finger push against the entrance to her tunnel. He didn’t move, didn’t change his current pattern as he watched Ronon out the corner of his eye stand up and move to stand almost directly behind John.

The hand on his shoulder told him to stop for a moment and John complied, pulling his face away from the wonderful taste of her arousal.

‘Tell me what you want me to do,’ he said leaning over a little too closely to John for his liking, but he understood the need to make sure she didn’t pick up the sound from somewhere else in the room.

‘Fuck,’ was all she managed to say as John picked that moment to push his finger just inside her and begin a small fucking motion.

‘Tell me what you want, Elizabeth,’ he tried, changing his question slightly.

There was a moment where all she could do was moan at the increasing thrusts of John’s finger. It wasn’t until Ronon reached over and placed his left hand flat on her stomach that she managed to find her breath.

‘I want you in me,’ she breathed and John looked up to her blush at her own statement. ‘I want you to fuck me, hard,’ she added her hips came off the bed to meet his thrusting finger, he leaned back in and continued to play with her clit as she added a broken sentence. ‘I want to come,’ she let out and John used that line to push his finger fully inside her and felt her body tighten; her internal muscles clenching on his digit as she finally came.

~~**~~

Ronon watched her for a moment, her body twitching in pleasure of a long held arousal was finally relinquished; she was breathtaking like this, completely at his mercy and enjoying it.

He placed a hand on John’s shoulder again and pulled him away slightly before he stepped back and moved down the side of the bed and leaned over. He flicked at her nipple again before moving up to her neck and whispering into her ear as she began to relax.

‘I’m not done yet baby,’ he breathed and moved back to kissing at her neck, moving down her chest to her breasts. He lingered at her breasts, teasing his tongue over her nipples for a moment before moving carefully down her stomach. He faltered, as he always did at the base of her stomach, he always loved that part of her body, just raised enough to tease him into believing something was there.

He continued down, running his tongue and lips down over her thighs to her knees. He flicked his tongue under her knees and felt her jerk at the contact. He loved how sensitive she was here and he’d learned quickly that she could be brought to great heights of pleasure just from teasing this location.

He tucked his hands under her legs, leaving his thumbs just in range to tickle the delicate flesh behind her knees as he pushed them up, placing her feet flat on the bed before he moved to kiss back along her thighs and engulf her centre.

She reared up again, calling out and moaning his name in pleasure as he hit all the right spots, his thumbs still teasing at her knees added to her ecstasy and he alternated for a while between simply circling his thumbs on her skin and devouring her wondrous taste.

He knew it wouldn’t take much, she could be pushed over the edge quickly and effortlessly simply by doing both things at the same time. She was close again and it made Ronon’s cock throb when he tasted the start of her cum juice as it began to tease from her body. He wanted it, needed to take it from her; needed to feel her push against him as her body took its release against his face. 

He remembered the first time he’d had this pleasure, he was flat on his back on the bed and she was sitting on his chest, her body shuddering in his hands as his tongue explored her. He knew then that she hadn’t experienced this much, and it had been something she had been reluctant to let him do.

But nonetheless, she had submitted to it, sat so she could look down at him, her hips rocking as he brought her up so high she was sure she’d hit something solid when he finally let her fall.

The feel of her thighs tight on his face as they were now reminded him of how she’d pushed against him when she’d let go, let all her pleasure out, forcing him to swallow it all, trapping him by the ears between her legs so he could only hear the muffled versions of her words as she panted and screamed his name.

He was unconsciously rubbing himself on the end of the bed, the need for his own release driving his body to move without his knowledge and out of the corner of his eyes he could see John battling with a similar need as the man’s hand moved lazily on his own length.

One of them was more desperate to be inside her than the other, but Ronon had a plan and refused to deviate from it. She hadn’t let on that she knew John was there, he suspected she knew someone else was in the room, that someone else had given her the first pleasure of the evening. But she had said nothing.

He shifted, timing his movements just right and flicked his thumbs under her knees as he dipped his tongue into her core and felt the instant release that he’d been teasing her up to for the few minutes. He pushed forward as she pushed down and found her knees pulled from his grip as she quickly wrapped her legs around his head to hold him in place.

~~**~~

John watched in awe at the magnitude of Elizabeth’s orgasm, he had never in his life been able to coax something so intense from someone so beautiful and it served to trap a few emotions in his body.

Need: a want to release as he watched her, squirm on the bed, her legs trapping Ronon in place as she switched between panting his name and cursing at the moment’s intensity.

Jealousy: a realisation that he wasn’t actually as good as he thought when it came to giving women the pleasure of the night instead of just satisfying his own wants.

Hunger: he wanted another try, to see if he could learn more about what made the Atlantis leader so sensitive and how to make her react to him in the way he was currently watching.

As he watched her, his hand movements stilled, he was slightly thankful for this as he was sure that continuing to stroke himself would only have served to end his fun, and he wanted to see if Ronon would let him be inside her again.

In front of him, Elizabeth relaxed, her whole body going limp and her legs dropped away to reveal that Ronon had not stopped his actions, his tongue still slipping, now lazily, through her slit and the small mewling sound Elizabeth was making was going straight to his cock.

After a moment he watched as Ronon moved up her body and rested his head along side hers, he kept his weight off her and the contact between them minimal and from what John could tell he was talking to her, but the words never reached his ears. 

‘John,’ Elizabeth breathed and John snapped out of his lost reverie, his name was followed quickly by Ronon’s chuckle and the man turned to look at him.

‘Seems you made an impact last time, Sheppard,’ he said with a grin, ‘she knew it was you.’

John watched in shock as Ronon turned back to Elizabeth and he couldn’t help running his eyes down the skin of her body as he waited. He didn’t have a great view of her, Ronon’s large form blocked a large portion of her body from his view, but he could see the rise and fall of her stomach and breasts, caught sight of her nipple as her chest relaxed and wondered if it brushed her lover as it rose back up.

Suddenly Ronon moved, laying on the bed beside her and looking up at him. His hand still wrapped around his erection made him slightly uncomfortable as the man looked at him as if appraising his worth.

‘You want her Sheppard?’ he asked and John stumbled over his words as he tried to say “yes” without sounding too eager or desperate.

He moved forward again, one knee on the soft sheets and then the other as he moved towards her open and ready body. He sat back on his knees and reached his hand towards her glistening sex to dip a finger inside. She squirmed and John looked up to see Ronon’s eyes fixed on her face, his lips moving as he muttered in low whispers to her. 

She squirmed again and John withdrew his fingers and shifted forward to position himself. 

He sank in slowly, feeling her muscles clench at him as he added more pressure to her, she was extremely wet, excessively hot and maddeningly tight around him, but that just made it all the more better.

He pushed all the way in and slowly pulled back, as he pushed in again his control slipped, something Ronon had whispered made her pant quickly, her body tensing and her muscles begin to contract around him, it was almost as if she were coming on the spot, but wasn’t quite off the edge yet.

‘Fuck,’ he breathed as she gripped at him and her hips pushed up at him wanting faster and harder contact that he couldn’t resist giving into. He let go of all his control and began to thrust quickly into her.

John’s eyes were downcast, he couldn’t look at her face, watching the pleasure even without being able to see her eyes would have been too much, and watching himself vanish into her body would have been worse. So he fixed his eyes on her stomach, watching it rise and fall in contrast to his thrusts and he would have been able to use it to keep some semblance of control.

Except that Ronon had other ideas. 

A hand snaked down her body, running lightly over her abdomen until it came to rest, palm down and fingers spread on the ever so slightly raised part of her stomach, a part John had a feeling, from his last encounter, Ronon was obsessed with.

He missed what triggered it, missed Ronon run his finger tips roughly over the very base of her stomach, but felt her reaction to it. She came, hard in his opinion, her walls wrapping tightly around him, squeezing as he continued to move in and out of her. He felt the wave of extra warmth, heard her cry out in pure unabashed pleasure and John let go.

~~**~~

Ronon didn’t give either of them a chance to relax, he reached quickly up to the headboard and untied the cloth from it; he purposely left her hands bound together. He released her and gave John a shove in indication that he should move.

He hadn’t seen the man fall forward, his lips wrapped around her pert nipple and his hips hard against hers, but it didn’t faze him, he just needed to be inside her, watching her was too much now, he’d watched this man he’d invited in give her twice as much pleasure as he had.

He began to shift as he picked her up, turning her to lay face down on his chest as he moved into the middle of the bed. He was desperate now, wanted to feel what John Sheppard had just experienced and he knew she’d be twice as good on him.

He grabbed her arms as he settled in the middle of the bed and pulled them over his head to hook behind his neck before he ran his fingers down her sides and back up her spine. She shuddered, as he knew she would, and brought her head up so he could kiss her. A passionate kiss that she returned with strength as if she hadn’t just come three times without a break.

Her hips began to rock against him and he could feel her juices coating him as she moved, but he didn’t realise just what he’d gotten into until she broke the kiss and leaned forward to whisper into his ear.

‘I’m in control now,’ she breathed, flicking her tongue at his ear. ‘You’ll come when I let you.’

‘Lusty wench,’ Ronon growled and pushed her over onto her back and shoved himself inside. He loved the sound she made on his initial thrust and only had it for a moment before Elizabeth pushed back with a force he didn’t realise she possessed and he found himself flat on his back on the floor.

His body went limp as she started moving, pulling her body up his length and dropping back down with great force. Her thighs tightening on his hips on the down motion, a motion that included the clenching on her muscles on his very sensitive and excessively hard length.

‘I want to come on you,’ she continued, forced to lean forward on him as she rode him. Her hands were still tied behind his head and she still couldn’t see the expression on his face from the blindfold, but she could feel the reaction of his body and stopped thrusting to rock her hips on him, ‘and I don’t want you to come with me,’ she added, ‘I want you to wait until the second time,’ her voice broke at the end of the sentence and Ronon looked up.

Behind her, sitting on his knees at their side, John had joined them, his right hand on her shoulder, his thumb flicking over the bone he found there. She shuddered as he moved, pushing his finger into the dip between shoulder and neck and Ronon dropped back again, and took a firm grip on Elizabeth’s legs just above her knees.

She gasped and growled at them both as she stilled her movements, just for a moment and Ronon could feel her walls flexing in need. Eager to get her first orgasm out of the way, Ronon gathered up the remainder of his strength and told his friend what to do.

‘Her back,’ he said and felt Elizabeth’s nails dig into his neck as she gripped him in an attempt to stop him from finishing his instruction. ‘Touch her back.’

He felt Elizabeth’s reaction instantly as he squeezed his eyes shut and moved his hands down to once again tease at her knees. She was panting hard above him, her hips moving quickly a combination between thrusting on him and rocking against him.

~~**~~

John’s fingers trailed down her back slowly as he watched her, his eyes fixed on her hips as she shifted, thrust and rotated on his friend’s, he watched the top of her backside, admiring the dip at the base of her spine.

Last time he’d touched her, he’d learned that she was sensitive, VERY sensitive in fact; he’d learned that she had places she liked to be touched. Her stomach for example and her breasts, and here he was, one again in heaven learning more.

Her knees, her back and shoulder being added to the list. Although he had to admit that he’d guessed that from being inside her as Ronon had sucked at her neck and feeling her reaction.

“All for her experience” John reminded himself as his hand moved lower, if she could learn where she liked to be touched, then she could learn just what was better during sex, than just laying down and taking it. He had to admit, there had been a few women in his life that could do with a few experiences like this.

He could feel her spine in his palm as he continued down, she was faltering more as he reached the bottom, forcing herself to keep control and he wondered if there was a special place on her back that would make her lose it.

Always in control Elizabeth Weir; soon to lose all her control with a simple flick of John’s finger while she fucked herself on Ronon’s cock.

He grinned at the thought of finding a spot to take her by surprise as he reached her lower back and out of curiosity flicked his finger through the small dip.

She cried out instantly and his hand slipped up her back as she pushed down with all her strength onto his best friend. He’d done it, he didn’t actually believe it was possible to find that one place, that one spot to take away all that she held, that one simple, sensitive place that made her come.

~~**~~

Ronon roared, she was coming hard on him and he was trying desperately not to let go, he wanted her to have control, needed her to feel what it was like to get what she wanted in sex.

But as she always did when she came, she began to milk him for everything he had and he tightened his grip on her knees as she forced herself down attempting to take more of him than was available.

It was too much, he would let go if she didn’t move soon, if she didn’t relax and suddenly, before he realised what was happening, it was gone. The pressure had lifted.

John had moved he was sitting now on his knees between Ronon’s spread legs, his knees carefully avoiding touching the man. Elizabeth’s weight was on his thighs and she was leaning back against John.

Ronon ran his eyes down her body, her head back on his shoulder, her body lax against his bare chest. John had one hand across the top of her stomach, obviously for support as she continued to squirm. His other hand was between her legs and Ronon watched for a moment as two fingers vanished into her depths and reappeared before repeating the action.

He reached down and gave his length a squeeze at the very base and felt the pressure release a little before he moved up, stroking his sticky length as he watched his friend finger his lover.

After a moment John looked up to meet his eyes and knew the man was ready. Ronon watched as John pulled his fingers from her sex and listened to the sound she released, somewhere between need and anger at the loss of contact.

She leaned forward, tucking her still bound hands back behind his head and she climbed back onto his length. She didn’t or couldn’t go slow, he didn’t know which until he looked back at John who had put his position and hands to good use. One hand running across her back and over her sides repeatedly, the other on her thighs, running small circles down her legs to her knees, where Ronon’s hands had gone back to.

She moved quickly and Ronon watched her face, her expressions half hidden by the blindfold he’d place on. She was building quickly again and Ronon caught sight of John leaning down low to kiss around the sensitive spot on her lower back. She was moving faster and faster on him and he wasn’t sure for a moment if he could hold out until she built back up.

He wanted to see her, feel her, touch her more. He reached up, pulled her hands from behind his head and rested them on his chest. This gave him a better view of her body as well as changing the angle at which she took him. He ran his hands up her arms, over her shoulders, along her neck and up her cheeks to the blindfold before following around to the back of her head where he untied it and let it drop across his stomach.

He followed his path back down to her shoulders and moved on, down over her chest, feeling her falter as she realised what he was going to do and feeling John teasing at the skin on her back.

He passed her breasts, pinching at her nipples as he passed. He pressed one hand between her breasts at the top of her stomach while the other moved down, pausing to stroke her stomach as he moved and felt her muscles clench on him and her hips begin to grind against him.

He moved on, his hand stretching out on her stomach and just as he flicked his thumb over her clit, he saw John sink his lips onto just the right spot of her neck and she came. She screamed in pleasure, the dual assault on her body making her tighter and more powerful than any other experience Ronon had given her.

He grunted as she thrust a few more times before grinding her hips on him and he came, unable to hold back any longer, his hands seized her hips and he thrust up as he pulled her down taking her deeper than any other time and letting his essence loose in her beautiful body. And then he collapsed. 

She followed him down and he loved the feel of her weight on her chest. He heard movement, John had gotten up, his clothes being pulled on and as Ronon fought to stay awake a moment longer he felt a sheet brush his sides.

‘Sheppard,’ he growled low unable to finish what he wanted to say.

‘Thanks Ronon,’ he said and before Ronon could stop him, he’d left the room.


	3. Chapter 3

It was hard to believe it, he’d been courting her for six months now and he’d not even seen her naked let alone sampled her body. He wanted to do it, to see what she looked like and feel her skin against him, but she was too “modest” as she put it.

He had tried before, several times in fact and had always been pushed away, the first few times she’d gone so far as to push him out of the room, but lately it had turned into fun games, small touches and rubs. Even if it was with clothes on he still liked them, but went away feeling needy and unwanted.

He passed a random person, one of the many he didn’t know yet, if he ever would, and turned the corner thankful that Elizabeth and several of the senior staff had rooms in a secluded section of the personnel tower. 

He paused outside her door thinking about a conversation they had slipped into a few days back. They had been lying on her bed just staring at the ceiling and for some reason she had asked him if he had children.

Like most other people in the city, she didn’t know much of his past and knew the only way to find out would be to ask. As always, he’d been short in his answer by just saying “no”. Silence had followed and he wondered now if she’d been contemplating which question to ask next.

_‘Was there someone who you wanted to have children with?’_

He’d turned to look at her then, analyzing her face to see if the question was simple curiosity or if she was thinking of the possibility that there was someone out there still waiting for him.

 _‘I had a woman promised to me, but I don’t think she wanted them,’_ he’d said still watching her expression. He had wanted to ask why she was talking about kids now, what had prompted it. But more than that, he’d wanted to ask if she wanted them.

He couldn’t even put the sentence together in his head before she’d spoken again.

_‘Do you want children?’_

Ronon shook his head to clear his mind, looked either way down the corridor and then rang the door chime. It was a minute before Elizabeth opened it and as she usually did she hurried him inside, he understood her reluctance to be caught like this; she had a reputation to keep.

‘You know,’ he said watching her moving back towards the bathroom rubbing at her hair with a small towel, ‘you never did answer my question.’

‘What question,’ she called from the bathroom.

Ronon moved to the bed and sat down, his eyes lingering on the small white box on her bedside. He couldn’t stop himself from reaching out for it and popping it open.

‘About wanting children.’

‘That’s funny,’ he heard her call and then saw her out the corner of his eye stepping out of the bathroom as he fiddled with a tray of pills, ‘because neither did... you.’

‘What are these for?’

‘Nothing important,’ she tried and Ronon dropped the box on the bed and continued to wave the tray of pills at her.

‘Tell me what these are and I’ll answer the question.’

‘Yes, I want children. Eventually,’ she said answering his question from days ago.

‘That wasn’t the right question,’ he said smirking at her. She raised an eyebrow at him and gave him a cheeky grin before she spoke.

‘Yes, but now I’ve answered a question; it’s your turn now.’

He turned quickly as she lunged forward and slid easily across her bed to stand on the other side, the pack of pills still held in his hand and he looked down at the box he’d knocked on to the floor. A sticker with printed text glared up at him and along the top in big black letters it read “Birth Control”.

‘Ronon!’

‘What’s “Birth Control”?’ he asked looking back at her. She looked away and Ronon could see the blush that crept up the side of her neck. 

‘They help prevent unexpected... pregnancy,’ she explained quietly unsure how he would react to such items.

‘You take these every day?’

‘Yes.’

He moved around the bed, a small amount of anger flooding his body, he wasn’t even allowed to touch her and she was already stopping them from having a family by messing up her body with drugs. He controlled his anger as he moved to stand in front of her and tilted her head up to look at him.

‘You just told me you wanted children,’ he said quietly and more calmly than he felt, ‘why would you take something to stop that from happening?’

‘I said eventually,’ she said sounding slightly timid at the look in his eyes.

‘Is that ability unlimited for Human women?’ He knew on his world, every woman had a point where their body would no longer support a child, where it would shut down that part just to maintain the rest.

‘No,’ she said in barely a whisper as she shook her head. The fear in his eyes softened the feelings he’d been fighting with. He would never understand these people, the things they said and did were confusing to him and he knew that no matter how long he asked questions for, he would never understand what possessed her to take the tablets.

He watched her for a moment; she moved her face from his hand and looked down to his hand where the pack was still clutched. He released it, letting it fall to the floor with a small metallic clang before he moved the final step towards her.

She looked up at him and he seized the opportunity and kissed her. He’d kissed her before, small kisses to show a growing affection, but nothing like this. He held her close, his lips firmly on hers as he waited for her to adjust to his movement before deepening the kiss to something filled with passion and longing.

‘I love you,’ he said refusing to let her look away as he broke the kiss. He registered the shock on her face for only a moment. ‘I’ve loved you for a long time,’ he continued, ‘I’ve never met anyone as intoxicating as you.’

He brushed his fingers down her cheeks as she tried in vain to reply to his comment but he refused to let her say anything and pulled her back in for another kiss.

Ronon let his hand wander as they kissed, hating for a moment that she’d dressed after her showers, but loving the fact that she never tucked the clothing in. He slipped his hands around her waist pulling her closer to him and pressing her body up close.

She gave a small moan and Ronon took this as encouragement to continue, so he dipped his fingers under her shirt and began slowly to work his whole hand onto her skin. He was barely beyond the tips of his fingers when she pulled back taking his hands in hers to move them away from her body.

‘Ronon, I...’

‘I want children,’ he said suddenly, he moved his hand from her grip and reached forward, not to take hold of her waist or touch her skin again, but instead to flatten them on her stomach. ‘I want to see them grow here. It’s the only thing I’ve wanted since I met you.’

He knew she was watching him, knew she was examining his face while he examined her stomach still under his hands.

‘I want to touch you Elizabeth,’ he breathed, ‘feel your skin against mine,’ he paused not daring to look up at her. ‘I want to make love with you and create life.’

He shifted his hands, gathering up the top underneath them. Hoping she wouldn’t pull away again he raised the top just slightly and flattened one hand out across her abdomen too high for where he wanted to touch.

She didn’t move. Shortly after he realised she wasn’t going to he pulled his eyes up to look at her, fear was still there in her eyes, dominant over any other emotion, but she was fighting it.

He moved in again and stole a short kiss from her lips hoping to comfort her before he moved to her ear and whispered as softly as he could.

‘Will you let me take off your shirt?’

From the corner of his eyes he saw her lids drop over her vision and a small nod of her head, her jaw was tight and he assumed that she was battling against the need to tell him to stop.

He moved the hand from her stomach up, pulling the shirt up without letting his touch move from her skin, she was soft under his rough fingers and he liked the contrast of it. 

He moved slowly easing the green shirt up over her head and letting it fall to the ground behind her. He would have thrown it, wanted to just sling it across the room and rip the rest of the material off, but he didn’t want to push her too fast.

He kissed her again, repeating the earlier comfort before once again moving to whisper in her ear, if he had to, he would take this step by step using this as his way to comfort and question.

‘Can I taste your skin?’

He felt, heard and saw her swallow, her eyes still closed as she considered his request. Her jaw shifted she was biting back the need to refuse; even with her eyes closed he could tell she wanted this just as much as he did.

After a moment more, she nodded very reluctantly and Ronon slowly lowered his head. Still not wanting to push her, he paused mere millimetres from her bare shoulder giving her the chance to change her mind; but it didn’t come.

He moved slowly, carefully resting his lips on her shoulder a small kiss then a stronger kiss, before he darted his tongue out to trace along her shoulder blade. Feeling no resistance he moved along it towards her neck and just as he passed from shoulder to neck he felt her shift.

Looking down along her body he saw her shift her legs, her previous stance now uncomfortable and felt her swallow again. He pulled back, studied the location and daringly ran his tongue along one spot.

A moan escaped her lips, he heard it just as she bit it back and knew she’d tried desperately not to let it out. He tongued the spot again and managed to coax another strangled sound from her lips. It made him smile and he hoped that as he explored he’d find more places that would make her give in and let the sounds out unrestrained.

He moved eagerly after exploring her shoulder and neck and crossed quickly over to the other side before beginning to move down her chest. He ignored the need to reach up and cup her breasts, ignored his want to trace the gap between them and rip the small connector that held the cups together apart. Instead he moved down, dropping to his knees and kissed across the base of her bra.

He slipped his hands around to rest on her back as he began to move down her stomach, he used his hands to pull her stomach forward as he moved to her belly button.

He lingered at this spot, just above her pants, for a while before he stood back up and stole another gentle kiss before leaning into her ear again.

‘I want to see more of you,’ he whispered and listened as her breath caught in her chest. ‘I want to see all of your beauty. Will you take off your pants for me?’ He waited, lingering at her ear, watching from the corner of his eye.

For a moment he watched her battle with herself and he was unsure if he was going too far, perhaps six months wasn’t enough, maybe he should have waited for her to make the first move.

She nodded and he raised a brow before he took a step back, then another and another before he felt the bed behind his legs and sat down. For the first time since he’d started undressing her, he saw her open her eyes to look at him, he saw the fear, but he also saw something else, something more powerful.

Determination.

He watched as she reached her hands up and shakily took hold of the button at the top of her pants. She flicked it open easier than she should have been able to with the fear she was showing and moved too slowly pulling the zipper down.

He expected her to go slow, she was nervous, shy even, but he didn’t expect her to go teasingly slow.

He shifted on the bed as his already stiff member tightened against his leathers, his eyes fixed on her stomach as she slowly, very slowly, parted the lapels of her pants and bared the rest of her stomach to his vision.

He’d always had a thing with women’s stomachs, marvelled at how they managed to support and grow offspring. But never in his life had he been turned on so much by the sight of the soft skin that stretched over the area.

He darted his eyes back up to Elizabeth’s face, her eyes were still open and locked instantly onto his in the glance, she was gauging his reaction her expression had softened somewhat, the fear she was showing slowly dissipated as he looked on in awe of her movements.

His eyes dropped back as she shifted her stance he locked his gaze on the patch of her hip that she’d revealed to him, she was slowly moving her clothing off, one lapel, then the other, one hip, then the other.

He shifted again and his hand moved unconsciously to his groin, she was arousing at the best of times, but it seems she’d moved past her nerves enough to tease him. He saw her pause and glanced back up to see her staring at his hand rubbing slowly at his aching length. 

Ronon opened his mouth to apologize, but found his jaw only dropped. She had released her pants and they pooled on the floor around her ankles for a moment.

His eyes trailed her body, from the top of her head to the end of her toes he took her in, drank her like a strong drink that would go straight to the head and make you dizzy with its power.

She stepped out of the pile of cloth at her feet as he continued to take her slowly into his memory, he never wanted to lose this image, wanted to cling to it at night when he was stuck off world, even if it meant he’d walk around the next day with an erection the size of the control tower.

Unable to find words to say what he was thinking, he tapped his knee and watched her hesitate, before she moved towards him. He watched her take each step forward, ran his eyes over her as she turned her back to him and lowered herself into his lap.

Slowly he reached up and placed his hands gently on her sides, she jolted slightly and he realised, before he could remove his hands that she just jumped from the moment because it was unexpected, not because he had touched her bare skin.

‘So beautiful,’ he breathed on her back as his eyes took in the dip of her spine and a small dimple at the base of it. As he wondered if she would mind his hands tracking every dimple, she reached up and placed her hands over his.

They sat that way for a moment he concentrated on the feel of her breathing under his touch, the slight shift of her sides as she took in a breath and released it. A moment later that concentration slipped. 

Elizabeth began to move his hands, trailing them across her stomach to start with, releasing a shudder as she moved, before moving up to her breasts and just as she moved him to cup her, she released him and leaned back.

He kept his touch light as she relaxed against him, her head resting back on his shoulder as he ran his digits over her still covered chest.

‘Elizabeth,’ he breathed feeling a nipple harden under his palm, ‘can I take this off?’

She didn’t answer, didn’t nod. Instead she took his hands again and guided them to the clasp at the front and guided his fingers into unlatching it. She shifted her hips before she let go of his hands and Ronon became very aware of a wet patch that suddenly came in contact with his thigh.

She was ready for him, the heat and juices that she was producing from his teasing had moved past her own underwear and through his leather pants to begin pooling on his skin. He felt his need tighten and more harshly and quickly than he should have, he parted her bra and pulled it from her shoulders.

His hands moved quickly back to her breasts and he flicked his thumbs over her nipples. She groaned and Ronon let out a small short laugh.

‘Sensitive?’ he questioned with humour on his voice.

‘More than you know,’ she replied speaking for the first time in what felt like forever to him.

‘I’d like to learn,’ he whispered, latching his lips onto her earlobe and sucking on it before he asked his next question. ‘Will you let me touch you everywhere?’

She shifted again as he continued to manipulate her nipples and Ronon felt the patch on his leg increase, she was thinking of his hands teasing just there and he smiled to himself as he spoke.

‘I’d like to touch where you’re still covered. Last.’

He added the last word to tease her and she shifted again. He realized as she repeated the movement that she was rubbing herself on his leg, creating a friction that she was desperate to keep and trying hard to stop.

‘Ronon,’ she moaned and he moved his hands from her breasts, running them back down her stomach. 

He didn’t go for her sex; instead he skipped over her underwear completely and traced his fingers down her thighs towards her knees. As he trailed them back up her thighs she moved again, this time not to create friction, but to separate her legs and open herself to his touch.

‘How much do you want children?’ he asked carefully as his hands moved up to her hips and toyed with her side straps to a very small pair of cotton panties. He didn’t let her answer as he moved from her hips to run across her mound, just above her sex.

She relaxed in his arms, her body going limp at his teasing and he briefly wondered if she’d come from the touch or if she was just tired of their conversation about her birth control.

‘I won’t take them,’ she breathed out quickly.

‘I don’t want you to stop if you’re not sure about this Elizabeth,’ he said and ran his tongue over her neck, ‘I love you and I’ll wait for as long as you want.’

‘I want to feel your baby in me,’ she said taking hold of his hands before they could dip inside her panties. She dragged his hands back up to rest on her lower stomach and whispered one more word. ‘Here.’

He couldn’t help the groan that he let out. He had been sure when he’d arrived that Atlantis was paradise, sure that he’d never find anywhere like this again in his life; which was one of the reasons he’d stayed.

The other reason had been a beautiful woman by the name of Doctor Weir, as he had been introduced. He remembered the nights for the first few days he’d been there, with a guard outside his room as he’d worked his own erection from the thought of touching her.

Now here he was, this beautiful woman who held the respect and command of over 70 people wearing nothing but her underpants, squirming in his lap and telling him she wanted to bear his children.

Suddenly having his hands on her wasn’t enough, he wanted to feel her against every part of his body. Except that he was still fully dressed.

‘Stand up for a minute,’ he said knowing he sounded more needy and urgent than he had anticipated, but she complied, moving from his lap and turning to watch as he roughly pulled his shirt off and threw it over the other side of the bed.

He climbed quickly to his feet and reached for his own pants, but she stopped him, her hands taking hold of his before he could touch the leather still containing his straining manhood. 

He looked up to see her smiling nervously at him, she let go of him and taking a deep breath ran her fingers over the muscles of his chest and arms. He licked his lips as he watched her, captivated by her as she explored his skin almost as much as he’d explored hers.

She trailed down from his pecs to his stomach and followed the trail of hairs from his navel down to his pants and Ronon unconsciously sucked in a deep breath as she started to undo them.

One lapel, two... One hip, two, he watched the expression on her face as she teased herself, revealing more and more of the trail of hairs before finally letting go of his remaining clothes and dropping to her knees to remove his boots.

He knew that she hadn’t looked at him, knew she’d avoided settling her eyes on his cock and wondered if her nerves were coming back in full force or if she was just waiting to take the whole of him in.

This woman was a mystery, he thought as he realised this had been one of many wonderings he’d had in the last hour or so. He laughed as she stood up and she looked sharply up at him.

‘I was thinking a minute ago that I had too many clothes on,’ he said with a smirk on his face to rival John Sheppard. ‘Now you’re the one who’s over dressed.’

Her face relaxed and she dropped her head to hide her own smile, he caught it for a moment before it dropped; she had finally looked at him. He could see an uncomfortable feeling creep over her features and waited. If he moved, pushed her on she would stop him.

She looked up, and he caught her gaze, before he stepped in close to her and kissed her gently.

‘I still want to touch you,’ he whispered into her ear reminding her of what she’d stopped. He took her hands in his and moved back onto the bed pulling her slowly along with him. 

He laid her down carefully, stretching himself out alongside her and reached up to take her face in his free hand.

‘You don’t have to be shy with me,’ he whispered keeping close to her, his eyes locked with hers, ‘you’re beautiful, you have nothing to be ashamed of.’

He felt her slender fingers on his face for a moment before she kissed him, a lingering and passionate kiss he’d longed to take all night, but was scared it would push him to do something he’d regret later.

‘Touch me Ronon,’ she breathed against his lips as she pulled away enough to talk.

He didn’t look away as he moved his hand from her face, running it lightly over the skin of her neck, chest, breasts and stomach until he could feel the elastic of her underwear against his fingers. He moved over them, crossing her mound before he dipped his fingers between her legs.

She shifted, parting her legs for him and he watched her swallow and her breath catch as she tried to keep some semblance of control. 

As he suspected, her remaining article of clothing was soaked and she squirmed against him as he kept his touch light. He refused to look away from her, wanted to see every reaction she had to his fingers on the most delicate part of her body. 

Her eyes darkened as he increased the pressure on her sex and slipped closed for a moment and she sucked her lower lip into her mouth before she released it and looked back at him.

He moved slightly, tucking his other hand under her head and used it to pull her closer to him. At the same time he slipped a finger down the side of her panties and drew a shuddering gasp from her lips before he leaned down to kiss her.

‘Can I taste you?’ he asked and watched as the fear from earlier returned in full force. Her body stiffened and he paused in his action as he watched her.

She was searching his eyes, he watched and waited as her eyes darted from his left eye to his right, she was looking for something, maybe looking for signs that he was joking, but he wasn’t.

‘Ronon,’ she couldn’t say what was on her mind, she was trapped with her mouth open slightly and a flicker of confusion and fear fluttering over her features.

‘Let me love you,’ he begged, ‘I will never hurt you.’

She tried to smile as he did and Ronon pushed away from the top of the bed. If she wanted him to stop, she only had to say it, ask him to stop and he would. He would willingly ignore the aching in his balls and the stiffness of his member for her; if that’s what she wanted.

He flattened himself on the bed between her legs and slowly pried her drenched underwear off over her hips and down her legs so he could drop them onto the floor beside him. He paused, looking up at her face as her arousal infected his nostrils and caused his body to twitch in appreciation.

She didn’t move, didn’t speak; just watched him as he looked up the length of her body.

‘I can stop,’ he said feeling his throat tighten at the thought. Elizabeth shook her head her breath speeding up as she did so.

He slowly leaned in, flicked his tongue over the top of her lips, just enough that she would feel it, but not too hard that it would frighten her. It was obvious to him now that she’d never had this done to her and he wanted nothing more than to make sure he could do it again.

He repeated the flick of his tongue and felt her body shudder. A soft thud from above told him she’d dropped back on the bed and he took this as a good thing and moved in to take her into his mouth.

The first few moans from her mouth were strangled cries, it wasn’t until he began to run the tip of his tongue in small circles over her clit that she gave up holding them back and Ronon found he enjoyed her moans of pleasure as much as he did her body.

‘Ronon,’ she cried out, so close to orgasm he was sure she was holding back. He pulled back moved to his knees still sitting between her legs. He watched with a grin on his face as she writhed on the bed and he couldn’t stop himself from reaching out and running his hands up her stomach to her breasts.

He fondled her nipples for a moment before he placed his hands on either side of her body and leaned forward for another kiss, the last of his gentle kisses that she knew by now would be followed by a request.

‘Will you let me inside you?’

‘God yes,’ she breathed without hesitation.

He leaned in again and captured her lips for a passionate kiss while he balanced himself on one side to free a hand; he moved it down between them and seized the base of his cock.

He broke the kiss as he pushed at her entrance and was seconds later thankful for this. She didn’t resist him, didn’t push him away, but she was unbelievably tight and he started to worry that he was hurting her. At least until he looked back at her face and found an excessive amount of pleasure spread over her cheeks.

Her eyes were squeezed shut as he struggled his way inside; he couldn’t believe the pressure she placed around him. He was caught between wanting to go slow and savour the moment of actually being able to make love to her and thrusting in hard and fast. He knew the latter of the two would end this all, at least for him, and he didn’t want that at all.

When he was finally fully inside her he froze, her body flexing around him and he had to drop his head against her breasts in an attempt to keep his control. Seven years, that’s how long it had been since he’d been this intimate with a woman. Seven years and seven months if he was honest with himself.

He shuddered as her hands moved down his sides to his hips and she pushed against him. His eyes snapped open and he raised his head afraid she’d now changed her mind.

‘Move,’ she breathed out the small plea as she continued to push at his hips.

He complied, pulling out slowly and beginning a steady rhythm. 

It only took a few strokes before his control slipped and he had to stop again, she pushed at him again, trying to edge him onwards and dropped down to whisper a fear of hurting her into her ear.

He didn’t expect her reaction, didn’t expect her to pull his face down for a passionate kiss and definitely didn’t expect her hips to thrust up against him; hard.

He growled, his teeth bore at the motion, the sensation and the fact that with one thrust of her hips, he’d almost let go completely of his control and come inside her.

‘We can go slow next time,’ she almost growled at him, ‘take me!’

When she put it so elegantly he couldn’t refuse, he dropped his body on top of hers, his lips latching onto one of her hardened nipples and began to thrust his hips against her.

Her cries were like music to his eyes, he could have listened all night; if only she hadn’t come, her body contracting around him, pulling him over the edge of a brilliant orgasm the likes of which he was sure he’d never had before.

It was several minutes before he felt her body finally relax, and he moved, pulling free from the grip of her muscles and collapsed on the bed beside her.

‘We’re gonna have to give you more experience in that,’ he breathed as she turned onto her side to face him. He managed to wrap his arms around her and find the strength to pull her close before he slipped quickly into a peaceful slumber.


	4. Chapter 4

He’d watched her, he couldn’t help himself these days, he always found himself watching her work, watching as she gave orders and navigated a potentially difficult situation into something that looked extremely easy under her care.

It had been distracting him, which is why he now stood in the infirmary with Teyla; that and the rumours that had started circulating about Elizabeth dating someone on the expedition.

He’d been having difficulty with a lot of things as of late, like how she seemed to glow when he was nearby, or how she seemed comfortable in the face of an enemy when he was at her side. He knew she wouldn’t have been able to handle Kolya or Laden Radiem as easily without him there, even if he did make it hard by wanting to kill them both.

But he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going to happen that would pull her away from him. Perhaps it was just the annoying fish creatures that were swimming circles around the city and driving everyone crazy.

He shook off the headache and moved away from Teyla’s sleeping form and out of the infirmary. He just wanted to check she was all right, make sure she was handling everyone’s whining without incident. And if she wasn’t, then he’d just have to take the biggest gun he could find to Rodney’s fish friend “Sam”; especially if he was giving her the most grief.

He didn’t step into the gate room, from where he stood he had a clear view of her office; she was there, sitting at her desk typing away at the computer with a deep scowl on her face. As he watched, she paused, raised a hand to massage her temple and then returned it to the keyboard.

For now, she was fine; save for the obvious headache.

He turned and walked back to the infirmary, he was safe here; he wouldn’t be tempted to rest a hand on her back or shoulder whenever she looked like she wasn’t handling the pain. He wouldn’t want to wrap his arms around her and cocoon her from the horror of the situation. He could pretend he was being useful watching over Teyla, making sure nothing happened.

Hours must have passed, he knew only of the Daedalus’ arrival as he watched the expedition members work their way into the growing crowd of the infirmary. As Carson cleared one bed, another became occupied.

It was a slight shock when John came in carrying Elizabeth, but Ronon couldn’t move. He kept his feet firmly in place, watching the doctor check her from the corner of his eye. Was this it? Was this what he’d been dreading?

But nothing happened, her hearing was damaged, drowned, but she was fine otherwise, Carson simply told him, the effect of losing your hearing so suddenly would make even the strongest of men dizzy.

He found her later that night, still sitting in her office; he stood in the doorway off to the side of her desk, out of sight of anyone but her. She had told him she wouldn’t be long, told him she wanted to get the report out of the way before she left; so he waited.

She paid no attention to him as she continued to tap away at the keys, with his eyes fixed on the side of her face, taking in her pale skin, high cheek bone and growing dark curls of hair that trickled down the side of her head.

He’d do anything for her at this point, anything. Give up his life, his freedom, Atlantis, his promise to rid the galaxy of the Wraith; anything. Yet that earlier feeling of dread was still lingering, he could go back with her tonight, make love to her and spend the rest of the night with his arms around her, but he’d feel empty tomorrow morning and he knew it.

There was just something missing from their relationship.

When she did stand up to go to bed, he watched her stretch out and yawn, the day’s pressure finally released and the tiredness of it all falling into place. He stepped aside as she passed him and they made small talk as he walked her to her door.

A group of people down the end of the corridor stopped him from following her in, so he continued on until they separated and then doubled back. He didn’t knock as he approached ten minutes later; he just stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

She was on her front of the bed still fully dressed; he took in the sight of her body limp as the strain of the day pooled on the bed around her.

‘You not changing?’ He asked and received a low growl for a reply.

‘I don’t think I have the energy. I don’t even have the energy to take my clothes off.’

‘That’s my job,’ he said with a grin and watched her body shake as she laughed at him. He moved easily around the bed and to her side and sat on the edge; he reached his hand out and ran it over her shoulders. She shifted under his touch, turning her head in his direction, yet keeping her eyes closed.

He pulled his other hand to join the first, resting one hand on each shoulder before he leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. As he pulled back he ran both hands down her consecutive arms to her elbow where her arm bent to tuck under the pillows. He leaned in again and placed a kiss on her jaw before drifting his hands back up to her shoulders.

Ronon pushed back on the bed and began a slow pace down her back, running small slow massaging circles down her spine as he moved. He drank the moan she released and used it as encouragement to continue down his path.

When he reached the edge of her red t-shirt, he tucked his fingers underneath it and applied a small amount of pressure to her lower back, spreading his hands out over her skin so his fingers could drop down her sides.

He leaned down and placed a small kiss at the base of her spine before he removed his hands and continued down her body. She shuddered as he passed over her thighs and paused to flick his fingers over her knees. He couldn’t help but grin as she found the energy to shift and help him as he picked up her foot and untied her boot before pulling it and her sock off.

He pulled his own shirt off before he began his path back up her legs to her waist. Ronon caressed her hips for a while before he lifted her up slightly, just enough to stretch a hand underneath and pull the button open and the zipper down.

He lay her carefully back down and started to carefully tug her pants down over her hips and thighs. It must have been a shock to her when he leaned in and kissed the places he uncovered as she pulled in a sharp breath of air. Ronon grinned at the success of both surprising and pleasuring her at the same time.

It felt like an age before her clothes were removed but Ronon didn’t mind, he continued the whole time drawing small sounds of pleasure from her as she remained on her front. When Elizabeth was down to her underwear, Ronon finally removed his own pants; mostly this move was to release the strain of his growing length against his clothing.

Placing himself carefully between her legs Ronon leaned forward to place another kiss on her jaw before laying himself gently down over her body, making sure she could feel his chest against her back and his erection against her backside.

Freeing a hand, Ronon pushed her hair to one side and placed a kiss on the back of her neck before shifting down to start a line down her spine. He couldn’t resist the urge to spend some time caressing her backside, she had a beautifully shaped one after all and he always found he had to watch her if she turned her back on him.

When he finally made his way back up her body he stopped at her bra strap and unhooked it, it didn’t take him long to remove it and he managed to do so without moving her from her current position.

He lay back down over her body following her every limb with one of his own and keeping the majority of his weight off her.

‘Have I told you how beautiful you are?’

‘Every time you get me naked,’ she told him with a small amount of amusement in her tone, ‘but I like it.’

‘Well that’s good,’ he said unconsciously starting to rub himself against her backside, ‘because you are beautiful. Have I told you that I love you?’

Ronon had to shift as Elizabeth picked her head from the bed to turn and look at him, her eyes finding his before she dared to give him a response.

‘Everyday,’ she said simply, ‘more than I could ask for from the man I love.’

He leaned in and kissed her softly before pushing himself up against her with as much pressure as he dared. She groaned at his action and her head dropped back to the bed.

Ronon shifted, moving down the bed to lie between her legs and started to pry her underwear down. He had to move for a moment to completely remove them, but as soon as he had finished he was back in place and dipped one eager finger into her sex.

To his surprise, she was ready for him, her body dripping with pleasure from his massage of her back.

‘Ronon,’ she moaned as he pushed further into her body. He pulled back after a moment and ran his tongue over her sex before sliding back up her body.

‘You know,’ he said as he positioned himself at her entrance, ‘I love you a little more each day,’ he added as he pushed slowly inside her, inching carefully into her, and listening to the whimpers she released at his speed.

She let out a loud moan as he pushed the last of the way inside her and he felt her muscles flex around him instantly. It was all he could do to hang onto his control as she lifted her hips to push back against him.

‘Thought you had no energy left?’ Ronon asked as she began to rock against him.

‘You bring out the best in me,’ she told him and Ronon couldn’t do anything but watch as she stretched her back out and pushed against him. She flexed on him and Ronon reacted instantly, he pushed forward, forcing her to keep in position with her backside raised slightly and her back fully curved for him as he began to thrust at a fair speed.

‘Next time,’ he breathed out between thrusts, ‘I catch you on your stomach while we’re trying for a baby,’ he added a little speed to his thrusts as she began to push back against him, ‘I won’t be stripping you down,’ he had to pause as his control slipped. ‘I’ll be finding a way to punish you.’

His lips descended on her neck once again as he finished talking and instantly he felt Elizabeth let go, her body began to shudder under him and he could feel her muscles tighten on him as she milked along his length with each thrust. 

He pushed up, balancing on his arms and changing the angle he held inside her for just a few more strokes before he could no longer hold back. He almost screamed out his release, dropping his head against the feeling that was pushing quickly through his stomach to his groin.

He collapsed on top of her again and quickly shifted to lie beside her. He hooked a foot under the covers that were scrunched at the end of the bed and tugged it up over their bodies. He made one last effort to pull Elizabeth onto her side so he could comfortably wrap his arms around her before letting out a contented sigh.

‘What did I do to deserve you in my life?’ he asked himself as Elizabeth sighed in her sleep, ‘I would never be so lucky to have a beautiful woman like you as my wife.’

The last word faded out as Ronon realised why he’d felt so empty lately, he loved her enough to wish she was his wife, that marriages and children could fill the void in his life that had been created by seven years as a Wraith runner.


	5. Chapter 5

He was resolute as he left his room and padded barefoot down the corridor around a corner and started down the stairs. It was a simple question, another part of the human culture he wanted to learn only this time with a reason and the idea to make use of it.

A simple question to a close friend and he’d know how to do it. He rounded another corner and stopped in front of a door. If it was as simple as he thought, then why hadn’t he knocked on John Sheppard’s door yet?

His shoulders slumped as realisation about what he actually wanted sank in and he closed his eyes. It was a big step, it had to be a big step for any culture, for any people, but he wanted more than anything to take that step.

‘Hey buddy,’ John said stepping around Ronon and vanishing into his room, ‘you coming in?’ he called back over his shoulder when Ronon didn’t move.

Stepping into John’s room proved to be more difficult than he had expected and once he was inside he couldn’t sit still. He’d sat down, stood up, walked across the room, fiddled with something on his desk before he finally turned and began pacing back and forth.

John was watching him, eyebrow quirked and everything; he could feel the man’s eyes on his back. He moved back to the desk, picked up a small multicoloured cube and began turning the sides. 

‘I need to ask you a question,’ he said, for some reason he couldn’t turn and face him. This man he’d seen naked, let touch his lover and watched take her, he couldn’t turn to look at him as he dared himself to ask the question.

‘Okay.’

Ronon turned again and continued pacing, he fixed his eyes on the floor he was treading and began flexing his fingers, stretching them at his side before balling them up. Why was it so hard? He knew this man, trusted him with his life, trusted him with his lover and yet he simply couldn’t ask him one question about Earth’s customs. He stopped, turned and found John grinning at him.

‘What?’ Ronon barked.

‘Nothing,’ John replied still looking amused even though he was trying desperately not to. ‘What did you want to ask?’

‘I’ve been here for a while now,’ he started, turning his back and once again taking up pacing across John’s room, ‘Seen a few of your people’s customs, like how women act around men they like, or ignore them. Eating habits, you cracking your knuckles, Elizabeth’s bedtime routine... you people like things in order.’

He turned again to look at his friend, the smirk he’d been hiding earlier gone, the look that replaced it was frightening and made Ronon want to turn and sprint from the room to the furthest part of the city he could think of.

‘Sport, TV, religion, or even the way you...’

‘What did you want to know?’

‘How do you ask a woman you love to join you in marriage?’ He said under his breath and quickly returned to John’s desk to pick up the cube.

~~**~~

He sat in shock, he had expected questions about women’s underwear or even the best way to show one you like them more than you did last week; but never the question about engagement.

Ronon wanted to ask Elizabeth to marry him?

He had seen them together, in more ways than he should have in fact, but he’d never expected that they were this close, that they were ready for this.

‘Well,’ he said feeling as nervous as Ronon and finding his throat suddenly dry, ‘I don’t really know,’ he said standing up and picking up the bottle of water from his bedside, ‘I’m probably not the best person to ask.’

He cursed himself for the lie, and mentally kicked himself hard for lying to this particular friend. He’d shared so much with Ronon, life, death and even love, but he couldn’t even be truthful about how to ask Elizabeth for her hand in marriage.

He had done it before, asked a woman he was sure would say yes. He’d spent weeks setting it up just right, only to have her tell him she didn’t love him, just liked having sex with him.

Something was stopping him from just telling Ronon though, the image of Elizabeth’s smiling face, relaxed and happy as she had been a few times especially in their first year. The grin she gave him when he said something stupid, or even when he was flirting with her.

‘I guess it depends on the person you want to ask, if they would be fine with you just asking them or if they’d want something a little more...’ could he say it? The one word he couldn’t help but associate with Elizabeth Weir, ‘romantic?’

‘Definitely romantic,’ Ronon said in a low voice and John knew he was connecting the word to the woman in question.

‘Maybe you should ask someone else?’

‘You’re the only one I trust with this,’ Ronon said and John felt his stomach drop. He needed time to work out what was going on in his head, it was screaming at him to tell his friend, just explain the way it should be done, but at the same time it was screaming no, tell him you don’t know anything. He needed time.

‘Okay,’ he said licking his lips and clearing his throat, ‘you’ll have to give me some time to think about the best way. See if I can’t find out how other people have asked the question.’

He turned in time to see Ronon nod; place the Rubik cube back on the desk and turn.

‘Thanks,’ he said shortly and left the room.

John deflated across his bed, dropping like he had no bones to hold him up; he wanted to scream out his confusion. How could he possibly tell his best friend how to ask the woman he had feelings for to marry him.

He struggled to his feet, stripped to his boxer shorts and switched off the light.

It would be like giving her up, he thought as he dropped back onto the bed, not bothering to move the sheets. He’d have to give up his feelings for her, his lust for her beautiful face, delicate body and the glorious expression on her face as he had made her come that first time.

He’d known that first day, sitting in the control chair in the middle of a strange outpost that he would have a hard time keeping his hands off her. She was beauty and power wrapped up in one and the tone of her voice as she demanded to know who he was had sent a shiver down his spine.

He’d been lucky so far, never being alone with her long enough to let his brain talk him into doing something stupid. He could even quote the amount of times his brain had shouted kiss her while he stood in her room one evening in their first year. 

He had lost count in his second year how often he’d gone in to see her, said what was needed and practically ran from the room. She’d never asked him about it though.

He closed his eyes and sighed, his heart twanging just enough to convince him that it was worth letting Ronon work it out for himself. If he messed it up, John could have a chance with her.

His eyes flew open and he sat up straight, it was no good, if all this feeling was going to do was make him turn against a friend, he’d have to find another way around it. He pulled up, dressed quickly and started out the room at a quick walk.

He turned corners, ran up stairs, jogged corridors for what felt like hours, not caring where he walked or who he passed. He turned one corner and ran straight into Carson, apologised tersely and carried on.

It must have been hours later that he stopped, his eyes fixed on a slight movement on the other side of a glass door. 

He looked around, he was in a tower on the far side of the city, outside, past the glass door, was a balcony that looked over the north pier and standing on it, looking out over the ocean, were Ronon and Elizabeth.

He watched them, standing close, Elizabeth leaning back against his chest and Ronon’s hand running up and down her right arm. He couldn’t see his friend’s left hand, but he’d wager everything that it was resting on her stomach.

The soft light that shone across the balcony gave him a good view of Elizabeth’s face as she turned to look along one side of the city, she was relaxed, more relaxed than John had ever seen her, in her office, in the mess or in her room; she’d never looked that content.

Content. The word was like a dagger to the heart, but he couldn’t look away, not even as Ronon tightened his grip on her and she turned to kiss him their difference in height not getting in the way for even a second.

All this time he had been seeing Ronon as a friend and Elizabeth as a beautiful woman whose heart needed to be won; but she was a friend too. As much as his head and heart could scream at him to push Ronon out of the way and claim her, he couldn’t and wouldn’t do it. She deserved to be happy, deserved to be loved this way by a man who could show her how he felt.

An old conversation with Teyla slipped into his mind, he’d told her, or she had guessed that he wasn’t good at showing his emotion. If Elizabeth would ever look at him the way she was currently watching Ronon, he would end up walking away.

He’d also told Teyla that he’d do anything for his friends, and if any two of his friends deserved to be loved, it was a seven year runner of the wraith and a woman in command of a city.

He turned and started to walk quickly back to his room. Tomorrow, he would find Ronon and tell the man everything he needed to know, he’d tell him everything he’d done when he’d proposed once upon a time and he’d be there to help the man set up such an encounter with Doctor Elizabeth Weir.

~~**~~

He loved this balcony; it was his own personal paradise. It was here after all that he’d come for a break and found her standing looking out over the ocean.

He’d interrupted with a small smile and she’d smiled back, she had been thankful for the company that wasn’t looking to ask questions and tell her about the latest project. They’d sat there talking for over an hour before she had to go to a meeting.

The second time he’d come back the balcony had been empty, or so he thought, it wasn’t until he’d flopped down on the bench in the middle of the area that he’d noticed her, sitting on the floor in the corner watching him. 

He’d sat up quickly and asked if she was ok. She’d curled up and told him she was just having a bad day and he had found it hard to not move and sit with her. It had been this meeting, seeing her vulnerable that had led him to lean in and kiss her as she talked.

Shocked she’d fled the balcony and he was sure he’d never find her here again.

It really was empty every time after that, until one night late in the evening when she’d stepped out onto the balcony behind him. Crossed the space between them and stood with him to look out over the ocean. Silence had followed for quite a while after that, until she’d turned and with fear in her eyes wrapped her arms around him.

Before he’d realised it, this had been their meeting place, their little get away where they could just sit in each other’s company, share a few small kisses and talk about anything except their day or the goings on in the city.

Here he’d admitted to her that he thought she was wonderful, beautiful and sexier than any other woman he’d ever met. It was here that he’d first seen her blush and it was here that he would ask her to marry him.

He counted off the things he hadn’t done with her here on this particular balcony. Ask for marriage, make love, get married, make love, see her naked, make love, touch her beautiful body and make love being at the top of his list. He grinned at the thought of how perfect it would be to make love with Elizabeth here.

With this in mind, he leaned down and kissed her, a slow, simple and lingering kiss that didn’t tell her what he wanted, but told her instead that he’d found a new home with her and he had no intention of leaving.

When she pulled away from the kiss a while later, a grin on her face, he only gave her time to catch her breath before he started it again. This time, she would work out what he wanted, he was sure of it. He knew he’d managed it when she turned to face him and he was forced to take his hand from her stomach where it had been lingering.

He placed the hand on her back instead, using it to pull her closer to him as he deepened the kiss just enough. He swallowed the moan she gave him but refused to let her pull away, he wanted her here, not as they had done on the other balcony, hard and fast, but he wanted that rare moment between them where they took their time and made it last.

Elizabeth’s hands on his stomach caught his breath and he pulled back, their kiss broke he searched for her face and found her eyes watching the path of her hands as she dragged her fingers up his skin pulling his shirt up with them until she tugged it up and over his head.

He was used to taking control in these situations, Elizabeth only once so far having shown she could take him as well as he took her. But she was clearly in control now and he had to bite his lip as that control dragged a tongue over his left nipple.

She moved languidly, in no hurry to turn this into something it didn’t need to be and he was thankful for that, he didn’t want to have another quick go with her body or let her do the same to him, he wanted to experience something he’d only tasted once with her.

Shortly after their first time together, they’d been here talking about feelings and how things would go, she had wanted to keep it slow between them, there was no rush, they didn’t need to try for the baby, but if it happened it would be a blessing.

Later that night, turned on by her use of the words baby and blessing, he’d gone to her room and they’d slowly undressed and slowly made love, something he wanted to do with her and now.

She had moved as he’d been lost in his memories, his other nipple had received the same tender touch as the first and she was now moving him back towards the bench. She didn’t let him sit, not yet; instead she crouched down and took his boots off before reaching up and undoing his pants.

Standing completely naked and with the images of their love making in his head, Ronon realised it was the first time he hadn’t been fully turned on by the thought of her. She was bliss and he knew it, but there was something about having her physically having to arouse him that kept his body in line.

She stood back up and kissed him, drawing out the kiss as they had done moments ago and then she pushed him back, carefully sitting him down. She straddled his lap before she kissed him again and on her lips he learned that she was comfortable with being the boss of this. 

After a while, she pushed him back, turning him enough to lay him flat on the bench. He lay there and watched her, feeling himself twitch as she slowly removed her own clothes in his view. T-shirt, boots, pants and bra all taken off and she smiled at him as she slipped her underpants down her hips and teasingly leaned over his face as she dropped them to the floor.

Given the chance, he would have latched onto one of the nipples that brushed his face, but she was quick and stood back up before sitting down at his side.

Another kiss, but as she pulled back Ronon could feel her hands on his shoulders, massaging the skin under nimble fingers. She moved down his chest, lazily rubbing at sensitive patches of skin, lightly pinching at hardened nipples and tickling gently at his sides as she moved down his firm stomach.

Before she could reach his cock, Ronon realised what she had done, her actions, ministrations and care of his chest had made him harder, not fully ready, but hard enough for need to start to settle in.

He jerked as she wrapped her hand around him. For all the times they’d been together, she had never directly touched him like this, he’d always guided himself into her body and he’d always stroked himself to increase his own pressure.

His breath caught at the sensation and he dropped his head from watching her to rest on the stone bench. He closed his eyes and tried to relax, but her hand was twisting around his length, coaxing more out of him. It was bliss enough on its own, but Elizabeth seemed to have more in mind.

Over the time that they had actually been together intimately, Ronon had tried to coax her into new things. He wasn’t coaxing this out of her, she was doing this of her own free will and he was pleased that he’d taught her that she could do anything she wanted and he wouldn’t question her for it.

One experience at a time, he’d told himself, take it slow and open her up without frightening her. Her hands on him was enough to drive him nutty as he felt her other hand join the first and she used them both together to pull up and push down his now very hard cock.

He was taken by surprise though, when she leaned down and licked his head. He jerked and sat up quickly, his hands around her wrists and his eyes locked with hers. She’d been taken by surprise by his action and looked afraid.

‘Do that now and this will be over too quickly, my mate.’

Her face relaxed into a shy smile and she reached up and pushed him back down. Back on his back Ronon wrapped his arms around her as she kissed him; he felt her shift, her body pressing against his as she moved to straddle his lap.

As she sat back, Ronon reached down to take his cock in hand ready to guide it inside her, but she stopped him, pushed his hand aside before he could reach himself and she wrapped her own hand around him, shifted her hips and lowered her body onto him.

He was in paradise. He was sure there was nowhere on any planet in any galaxy like this, their special place in a beautiful city with her sliding down onto his manhood. She moved slowly, rising back up before easing back down onto him and starting a lazy rhythm.

Ronon suddenly realised why he liked this position, with her in control the feeling was great and he closed his eyes and relaxed into her languid movements; but mostly it was the freedom of his hands. 

He could use them on her skin, running up her arms, and down her chest to cup her breasts. He could fondle and tease her nipples and he found if he pinched them just right, she would falter in her movements and regain her rhythm with a little more speed.

He moved off her breasts and trailed his fingers down her sides to pass over her hips and rest on her thighs where he started a slow circling massage as she moved, still slowly and comfortably over him. Her own hands were resting on his chest and as he moved up to dip quickly at the join between leg and sex, her fingers curled.

He smiled at her as he moved down, flicked his thumbs under her knees and moved one of his hands to her stomach. Her rhythm changed now, not to speed up, but instead of rising off him to take him again, she began to rock her hips on him.

This movement she had created made it easier for him to keep his hands flat on her lower stomach, but increased the pressure on his cock by ten times he sucked in a harsh breath as he felt his climax beginning to peak.

Still slow in her actions, Elizabeth began to grind her hips on his, the swinging motion of her hips captivating him as he watched and he felt a small flutter pass over her internal muscles and she stopped. Her head dropped and he watched as she opened her legs just that much more and pushed down hard on him.

It was a glorious feeling for him, and just enough for her to take back control of her senses before she continued to rock.

It felt like a life time as she alternated between rocking on him and thrusting, their breathing turned from easy, to laboured, to short pants of air and Ronon moved his hands to continue his exploration of her skin.

He knew without a doubt as he struggled against the urge to grip her hips and force her to move faster on him, that he would love this woman for the rest of his life. He examined her body, taking in every scar and blemish, every spot that made her falter in her actions and every place that made her hum in pleasure.

Asking her to marry him would be twice as easy as asking John Sheppard how to do it. 

He was so deeply in love with her; he would do anything for her.

His hands moved back to her stomach as her muscles twitched again, but she didn’t stop this time, didn’t shift to release some of the pressure she felt, she moved on, moving with it and causing the fluttering muscles to start tensing around him.

‘Ronon,’ she breathed her head hung low as she forced herself to move slowly. He grunted as she tightened on him, ‘touch me.’

It was a simple request, one he was only too pleased to comply with, he lowered one hand down her stomach and dipped his thumb between her sex lips. He curled the thumb back and brushed at her clit, she moaned loudly and his eyes flicked up to her face. She was so very close and he knew she’d pull him over with her and she still managed to move slowly on him.

He moved his thumb again, slowly rubbing at the sensitive bud and felt her movements still, she clenched around him, her legs open wide, chest thrust forward and she came.

Ronon began to come with her and as the first wave of his orgasm washed over him, he felt her hips begin to move again, rocking and thrusting together as her muscles hugged his cock.

As the feeling subsided, Ronon let his eyes slip closed. He rested for a moment feeling the soft movements as Elizabeth moved small and slow circles with her hips. She leaned in after a moment and kissed him.

‘I love you,’ she breathed before her hands tucked under his shoulders and she let her head rest on his chest. He heaved a sigh and knew he didn’t have to return the words, not just yet.

~~**~~

‘Hey.’

Ronon smiled as he stepped uninvited into Elizabeth’s room, he had done this many times by now and was always greeted with the airy “hey” she had just sent his way. More often than not it was followed by a kiss and it was this that always brought him further into the room.

‘Hey,’ he said and moved to the bed, he was sat down when she snapped her book closed, dropped it on the bedside and leaned in to kiss him.

‘What’s in the parcel?’ she questioned. He had thought she didn’t notice it, he’d purposely kept it behind his back and she hadn’t seemed to look up when he stepped into the room.

‘A gift,’ he said elusively. She grinned at him for a moment before reaching for the wrapped package now sat behind him on the bed.

Ronon shifted, pushing the parcel out of her reach and gave her a cheeky smile. She tried again and he once again moved it out of her reach. He watched the smile on her face turn determined and she waited for a moment. Just one moment before she stretched out quickly anticipating his move and managed to catch the edge of the package.

The corner ripped before Ronon could twist her away and flatten her on her back on the bed. She laughed at him, her arms pinned above her head and him straddling her lap, she just laughed at him.

‘I take it that’s not for me?’ she said in a mock sulk. ‘So who is she?’ Elizabeth mocked and continued to laugh.

‘If you want it, you have to promise me something.’

‘I’ve already promised you my heart,’ Elizabeth told him with a raised brow, ‘and my body for that matter.’

‘This is much easier,’ he said with a grin. ‘I want you to meet me, tonight, on our balcony,’ he told her returning to the seriousness he had when he entered her room, ‘wearing your gift.’

‘That is much simpler. What time am I meant to show up for this pre-arranged get together?’

‘Seven.’

‘Seven, tonight, our balcony, in... may I open it now?’

Ronon quirked an eyebrow, considering for a moment asking her not to open it until later; he was torn between wanting to see her reaction and making her wait. Giving in, he pushed up off the bed and moved to sit on the end.

He watched as she pushed forward to sit up and grabbed the parcel. She peeked in at the ripped corner before tearing the paper open and letting the soft material slither out onto the bed.

‘Where did you get this?’

Ronon grinned; the material of the dress was from Earth and the design very unique to the Athosians.

‘The Athosians, yesterday while we were over there,’ he got up and moved idly around the room.

‘You bought a dress from the Athosians?’

‘No,’ Ronon said picking up the book Elizabeth had been reading. ‘I made Sheppard get it.’

‘You,’ Elizabeth suppressed a laugh, ‘you made John buy a dress?’

‘Yeah, but it was no fun really, he told them it was for a woman back home.’

Ronon placed the book back on the side and turned to look at her. The loving gaze she gave him made his heart stop, she had laid the dress out over the bed and was just sat watching him. It was here, standing right in this spot looking at her that he knew he wasn’t making a fool of himself.

‘Seven,’ he said clearing his throat before moving forward and kissing her quickly on the lips. ‘Don’t be late.’

~~**~~

‘So, she’s got the dress,’ John started in a low tone as he followed Ronon down the corridor towards the mess hall.

‘Yes,’ Ronon said in a deadpan voice.

‘And she knows what time to be there.’

‘Seven,’ he said in the same tone.

John eyed him warily considering for a moment that the man had changed his mind or was in the process of doing so as they talked more and more about it. John kept quiet as they stepped into the mess and grabbed their food. He led Ronon to the back of the room to an empty table that rarely got used and sat watching the man for a moment.

‘The table’s been set up, I did that earlier, table cloth and everything,’ John took a large bite out of his sandwich. ‘I put the rose-type-thing in a small pot in the middle, so... you know.’

‘Thanks.’

Silence followed and John watched Ronon fiddle with his lunch, picking apart the filling seemed to only distract him for a moment.

‘Dinner will be ready and put on warming plates by six thirty; I’ll pick it up and take it down to the balcony. All you have to do is your dinner and stuff, then down on one knee like I told you, show her the ring and...’

‘Ring?’ Ronon’s head had popped up at the mention of the word.

‘Don’t worry, I have that covered,’ John said holding up a hand in hopes of calming him down. ‘We’ll get it after lunch if it’ll keep you calm.’

‘I am calm.’

‘Right,’ John said and took another chunk out of his food. ‘Anyway, dinner stuff, then down on one knee then show her the ring and ask her to marry you.’

‘Just like you told me,’ Ronon said shortly returning to his deadpan tone.

‘Nervous?’

‘Who’s nervous?’ Rodney asked sitting sharply down at the table and instantly stuffing his sandwich in his mouth.

‘Elizabeth,’ John said quickly through another mouthful of food, ‘she’s got that video meeting with General O’Neill later.’

‘Well you’d be nervous too if you were asked into a private video conference with the man in control of your career.’

‘I’m done,’ Ronon said suddenly and pushed his untouched sandwich towards Rodney and got up.

John stuffed the last of his lunch into his mouth, bid a quick goodbye to Rodney and climbed quickly to his feet to follow Ronon out the door. He had to jog along the corridor in order to make it into the transporter before Ronon selected the destination.

He followed Ronon’s quick pace down the corridor and through a door into someone’s room. It wasn’t until he saw the dress he’d picked up yesterday on the mainland that he realised they were in Elizabeth’s room.

Ronon dropped into the chair on the other side of her bed and sat forward to rest his head in his hands. Instinctively John closed the door behind him and moved further into the room.

‘Ronon, you okay?’

‘Should I be doing this?’

‘You love her don’t you?’

‘That’s not what I mean,’ Ronon shot and pushed harshly to his feet. ‘The General never asks to talk to her alone, what if someone’s told them about us? What if he’s going to take her from the city?’

‘Ronon.’

‘We’ve been keeping this a secret for a year, Sheppard, I want to show the world I love her, but I can’t...’ he trailed of and turned his back to John to look out the window.

‘Firstly, you’re not military, or even a member of the expedition; you follow Elizabeth’s and my command by choice. There are no rules against your relationship. What I’ve done with Elizabeth on the other hand....’

John looked up in time to catch the glare Ronon gave him; he cleared his throat quickly and started to pace the room.

‘I’ve seen Elizabeth talk her way out of a dozen situations, all of them political and hostage things, I should imagine for something like this, she’d bring the plague down on the heads of anyone who tried to give her command to someone else.’

He turned; Ronon had gone back to staring out the window, his back stiff as he listened.

‘As for hiding it, that’s something you and Elizabeth need to talk about. Only she can tell you if it would be a hideous mistake to let everyone know about you.’

Silence filled the room and John nervously looked around. He’d been in Elizabeth’s room before, but never without Elizabeth being there too. He could understand that this would be a comfort zone for Ronon, but it felt strange to stand here.

‘What if she say’s no?’

He could feel his eyebrow prick up at the question and he couldn’t help but stare at Ronon’s back. The other fears John could understand, losing Elizabeth would be hard on most of the city, they were all close, had been since their first year, stuck in a strange city, light years from home.

But his worry that she would say no, John couldn’t quite understand. He hadn’t been afraid of this when he’d asked Denise all those years ago, he had been sure she’d say yes. With Elizabeth and Ronon though, he’d seen something so much more pure than ever before, there was no way in hell she’d say no.

‘She won’t,’ he said more certain of this than he was that the Wraith were evil. ‘I’ve seen you two together, seen the way she looks at you,’ he continued feeling his heart sink as his brain started to wish she’d look at him that way. He shook his head to clear his brain before he continued. ‘She loves you Ronon, I’m willing to bet she loves you more than she wants to stay in the city, she’d probably give it all up if it meant she could stay with you.’

As he spoke, Ronon turned to watch him. John looked away as soon as he realised he was being watched, afraid that Ronon would see the loneliness on his face. He couldn’t shake the feeling that giving Ronon this was depriving himself of something wonderful.

‘Come on,’ he said at last and moved to the door, ‘before we get caught and have to answer a lot of awkward questions.’

John moved out and started to make his way towards his own room. It was a moment before Ronon followed and John had begun to consider that his friend wouldn’t follow at all.

They continued in silence until they were inside John’s room. He paused at his desk, he could do this; he could give Ronon this small item and let it be a part of something so beautiful. He could put something of himself into their relationship just as they had when they let him in.

He pulled the drawer open and picked up the small velvet box that had been tucked delicately in the corner. He turned and found Ronon sitting on his bed staring at the door.

One deep breath and he moved forward, and sat down next to the tall man. He paused for just a moment before holding out the box for Ronon to take.

‘It was my grandmother’s,’ he said softly, ‘my mother gave it to me the day she died, told me that it would be a great gift to a beautiful woman.’

He could feel Ronon’s eyes on him before the box was taken from his hand.

‘It’s not an engagement ring, but its close enough.’

‘What is it then?’

‘An eternity ring,’ John told him, ‘as my mom said, “it’s the promise of a lifetime”,’ He looked up and smiled at Ronon. ‘You know, I never thought I’d live to see the day you got married. So I figure this ring was meant for you to give to Elizabeth.’

Silence followed again, this time drastically uncomfortable as the two friends considered what they were doing. It was John who moved first, feeling too uncomfortable to just sit there anymore.

‘Anyway, I have to go beat up some new security people,’ he said casually. ‘Good luck.’

~~**~~

He knew he appeared calm as he stood watching John hurriedly placing the sterling silver dinner trays on the table and turn to leave with a quickly muttered good luck; but he didn’t feel calm.

Any minute now a beautiful woman to whom his heart belonged would step through the door and he’d be able to start something so precious with her. Almost like a new life.

He dug his hand back into the pocket of his brown leather pants to check for the hundredth time that he had the ring and stared aimlessly at the door. He knew without a doubt that asking this question was the best thing he could do, he loved her and he knew her words were the truth when she told him the same.

Yet for some reason, a lingering of doom settled over him when he thought about how things could change by this action.

He’d spent the afternoon considering his options, if she was forced to leave Atlantis for dating him, what could he do? He could go with her, back to Earth, attempt to fit in with her people. Somehow he doubted that would work, but it was an option.

They could request she stay in Atlantis, just to live, not to command or be a part of the expedition. Somehow he couldn’t picture Elizabeth keeping out of the day’s events; but it was an option.

Or they could both leave Atlantis, not to return to Earth, perhaps move over to the mainland or onto a friendly world he’d come across as a runner. He always came back to not seeing it working, but they were all options.

He pushed off from the railing, checked over his brown leathers and sweater and began pacing the open space. How could something so wonderful be so dangerous to do?

He paused, looked at the door, checked the ring was still in his pocket and moved on again. He only managed to reach the other end of the balcony when the door opened and he turned to Elizabeth stepping in.

The dress he had chosen was perfect. The long green material hugged her figure in a snug front string tied bodice that was seductively low cut on her upper body, until just below her hips. From there it flowed out cascading down around her legs and provided easy movement for his evening events. The very sight of her pulled an instant reaction from his body and managed to momentarily ease the thoughts that had been coursing through his mind.

The emerald colour made her eyes glimmer and seem a deeper shade than earlier that day. The effect of which seemed to make his heart stop dead; she was stunning.

‘Wow,’ he saw her mouth the word as he moved around the table and towards her. He stopped close and offered out his arm for her to take. The smile that brightened her face was an added bonus as he began to move on autopilot from what Sheppard had told him.

He guided her to the table, pulled out a chair and offered her the seat. She took it, still glancing around at her surroundings. Ronon moved to the other side of the table, picked up the bottle of Athosian wine and half filled her glass before doing the same to his own.

As cognitive thought returned, he clumsily placed the bottle back on the side and shakily picked up the tray cover from over her meal. He placed it and his own on the side with the wine and sat down. When he finally looked at her again he was shocked to find her watching him. 

‘What’s this for?’

‘We’ve been together for a year,’ he said simply, ‘I thought I should do something special for you.’

‘How did you arrange dinner?’

‘I had help,’ he said with a smile as he picked up his fork, ‘and dinner isn’t all I’ve arranged.’

She quirked an eyebrow at him and smiled before picking up her own fork and began to eat.

He couldn’t believe himself as Elizabeth began to make conversation and he only managed to answer in short bursts. He should have been able to talk to her over dinner; he had done it in the past, but never in this kind of situation, alone in a special location and with the possibility of messing up the rest of the evening on his mind.

His nerves were getting the better of him and it seemed Elizabeth had run out of possible ways to get him talking. He wondered if she had picked up on any of his plans, perhaps she would be able to guess he was going to do something big by the fact that he wasn’t very talkative.

They finished in silence and he sat looking at anything but her, he needed to calm himself down, they had only been here for 45 minutes so far, enjoying a slow meal and plenty of wine and he didn’t want to ruin it all by letting his nerves force him to spit the words out quickly and run from the room before she could answer.

Saving himself from her eyes, Ronon stood up and moved quickly into the second part of their evening.

Ronon walked silently towards a slight alcove just this side of the balcony doors and crouched down to push a button on the CD player John had loaned him for the occasion. He heard this song several times as he waited for Elizabeth to return to her quarters and knew he had exactly forty-five seconds before the music signaling the start of the dance.

He walked back to his lady love, smiling at the look of curiosity on her face as he reached for the red rose, broke off the stem, and tucked it gently into her hair. He licked his lips nervously as he extended his hand when the opening music drifted across the balcony.

He saw the instant recognition as her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open slightly. 

‘May I have this dance, my love?’ he asked as she accepted his hand and rose to her feet.

Ronon mentally ran through the placement of his hands on her body that Sheppard had shown him with quite a bit of discomfort before he took her left hand in his right and placed his left on her lower back.

The music was still building to the crescendo that heralded the first steps and he took a deep breath, praying that he didn’t screw this up.

‘Who taught you how to Tango?’ she asked him as she gifted him with the most beaming smile he had ever seen.

‘Sheppard,’ he said as he counted down the remaining seconds in his head.

‘Okay, I can officially add that to the list of things I’d never imagined John doing,’ she laughed softly and soon found herself being led backwards across the balcony.

He forced his eyes to remain on hers as he navigated the steps he committed to memory. It was not a difficult task to achieve since they sparked with an emerald flame that he attributed to her dress and the moonlight. She was captivating and judging by the smile on her face, he had yet to disappoint her with his planned festivities.

The tide shifted in the age old song of love and passion and it was Elizabeth’s turn to walk him backwards not with physical touch but with the presence of her body. His eyes slowly raked down the plunging neckline of her bodice before he glanced up at her with a sultry smile firmly in place.

He took her back into his arms and dipped her across his hip, his hand running along her thigh that rested along his. A quick snap back and they began anew, dancing the Tango across their personal balcony of private moments. As the song began to wind down, Elizabeth slid down Ronon’s side with one leg extended and her hand wrapped around his thigh.

He saw the passion in her eyes as she met his gaze and a predatory smile crept over his mouth as he pulled her up into his chest, wrapping his arms around her waist and back, and kissed her deeply.

He pulled back and found himself lost in her eyes, so far, so good he thought as he turned her towards the railing but didn’t move towards it.

‘I’ve never had a night like this,’ she said and Ronon could practically feel the love in her voice as she spoke. ‘You’re wonderful Ronon,’ she held his gaze for a while and let her smile break into a grin. ‘Are there any more surprises I should be aware of?’

Instantly he felt the calm shift from his body, and he dropped a hand from her waist and dipped it into his pocket to once again check for the ring. He shifted uncomfortably and looked around him, checking for exits. If he was going to mess this evening up, it would be here and now.

‘Just one,’ he said quietly and quickly pulled his hands from his pockets. ‘Over here,’ he added before taking her hand and leading her over to the railing. ‘Our meeting was a miracle,’ he started nervously stuffing his hand back into his pocket, ‘we've turned it into something more, there is no woman in this galaxy or any other that I could love more than you.’

He took a deep breath and clutched the ring’s box in his hand before drawing it out. His eyes dropped to it as he moved a small step back and crouched down, one knee on the cold floor of the balcony, the other up with his foot firmly in place.

He looked back up at her face and saw her eyes widen, water was building in them as she watched him and her lower lip began to shudder softly. Ronon took a deep breath and opened the box before he continued.

‘I would be honoured if you grant me the status of husband and father of your children.’

A single tear slid down her left cheek as her breath caught in her chest. He could see the smile on her still shuddering lips as she seemed to search for the words suitable to fit her answer.

He watched her as she took a single shuddering breath licked her lips and moved down to the floor in front of him, she leaned in, fitting easily beside his raised knee and kissed him.

He kept his eyes closed as they separated, and listened as she whispered his name followed by the one word that made him feel like he was melting.

‘Yes.’

He snapped the box shut and pulled her into a tight hug, he never wanted to let go, ever. This beautiful woman had just promised him the rest of her life and with her in his arms, he silently promised to make it long and glorious.

He pulled back suddenly realising he hadn’t done something and flipped the box open again; he pulled the ring from the inner foam and took Elizabeth’s left hand. He kissed her ring finger before he slipped the platinum eternity ring onto it.

Ronon stood up quickly, pulled her to her feet and took her hand in his.

‘I lied,’ he said with a grin, ‘I have another surprise. Come with me.’

He moved away from the railing and out into the corridor, he could feel her dress against his legs as she kept up with his fast pace. He led her through the city back to the personnel tower and completely ignored John as he moved through an unoccupied section; he pulled her to a stop in front of a door.

He stretched her hand out, using it to activate the door lock and moved her ahead of him as they stepped inside.

‘What do you think?’ he asked standing in the middle of a sitting room with four doors leading off it and the exit behind them.

‘We’re in a family room,’ she said eyeing the doors.

‘No,’ he said and she turned to look at him, ‘we’re in our family room.’

He kissed her cheek before moving her towards the door to the left; it was separated from the others, a large space of wall between it and the next room. The door opened for them and he stepped inside with her once again ahead of him.

‘This is our bedroom,’ he said, his hands around her waist to rest on her stomach. ‘There are two smaller bedrooms and a bathroom between them for our children,’ he gave her stomach a light squeeze at the word “children”.

‘Then we better make the first,’ she said and he raised an eyebrow as she turned into him and pulled him into a loving kiss.

He groaned into her mouth as he moved her back towards the bed. She stopped him before he could lay her down and broke their kiss. Her hands on his stomach made him gasp before she pushed his sweater up and over his head.

She reached up and kissed him again and Ronon released a shudder as she trailed the kiss down his neck and over his chest. Small pecks and little licks of her tongue trailed down his chest, teasing over his nipples and down his stomach.

She crouched down in front of him and pulled at the belt to undo it. He couldn’t help but study her as she removed his boots and pants. The rose was still tucked into her hair and he reached out to run his fingers over it and down her cheek.

He had to grip her shoulder as she ran her fingers up the insides of his legs to cup his balls and quickly hardening cock. He had learned long ago that her hands and fingers were deadly, he was sure if he didn’t pay attention to her, she would be able to make him lose control with a single flick of her finger.

He squeezed his eyes shut as she stroked him with a firm grip before trailing her hands back up his stomach until she was standing once again in front of him.

He let her hands continue to run over his chest and shoulders and he reached for the strings at the top of her bodice. He pulled at the strings to undo them, but didn’t want to take the dress off. He would have liked to make love to her in it, but the need to see her body was slowly over powering his want.

He took her hands from his chest and turned her around to place her back against his chest and began to trail his hands down her front as she had done to him. He teased at her nipples as they poked out through the material, stroked his way down her taut stomach and began to gather the skirt up in his hands.

He reached the end and placed his hand on the bare skin of her belly underneath before moving slowly down in search of her panties. Instead of finding them though, he found her curls bare and managed to easily slip a finger between her damp sex lips.

‘No panties,’ he growled low in her ear as he began to move his finger along her pussy. She squirmed in his hand and let out a puff of air at the sensation.

‘I figured this would be a part of the evening somewhere.’

He chuckled, dipped his finger into her tunnel and pulled his hands away completely to let the dress drop back to the floor. His hands moved back up and he gave her breasts a quick squeeze before he separated the dress’ bodice and slipped the thin straps from her shoulders.

The material slithered down her skin to the floor and left Ronon with an obstructed view of her body. His hands returned to her breasts and as he began to tweak her nipples and squeeze them lovingly, she turned her head to kiss him.

He let her turn in his arms, moving his hands to her back as she moved and he instantly found the small dip in her lower back and felt the hum of her groan flood his mouth.

Her arms snaked up around his neck and held him close. Ronon used this to his advantage and shifted his hands down to cup her backside. He gave her one gentle squeeze before he slid his hands down a little lower and plucked her from the ground.

A cry of surprise shuddered through his mouth, but he refused to let it break the kiss. He felt her legs wrap around him and couldn’t hold back the groan as her wet centre came into contact with his length.

Using all the will power he had, Ronon moved forward and placed one knee on the bed, before bringing the other up, he let go of her with one hand and reached out ahead of him, bracing for the mattress to stop them from falling hard as his balance wavered and he fell forward.

He lay her carefully down and pressed himself lightly down on top of her. This was a new experience for both of them, he realised as he pulled away from the kiss and looked down at her.

He pushed back, sitting back on his legs still between hers and cupped her breasts in his hands slowly drawing his fingers up towards her tight buds. He didn’t touch them; instead, he released her and repeated the motion before bending down and engulfing one of her nipples.

She gave a loud gasp which turned quickly into a pleasurable moan. He grinned and started kissing down her stomach as low as he could reach before kissing back up to the other breast.

He moved back, sitting up straight again and ran his hands back down over her stomach and letting one of his hands dip between her legs. Her hips pushed up to meet him, lifting off the bed and she managed to force his finger down towards her opening.

He teased a circle around her before using the other hand, still on her belly, to push her back to the bed. Feeling her start to rock up against his thighs, he moved his hand away from her sex and took his length.

He stroked down, watching as she lifted her hips up to him in anticipation, but instead of pushing into her, he stroked up his arousal, making sure to brush though her lips and flick the head of his cock over her clit. She groaned and managed to breathe his name, so he did it again. A louder groan and his name was practically screamed out.

He did it once more, making her think it would continue this way for a while before he stroked back down, pushed his hand up to his head and pushed easily inside her.

Her body stretched out along the bed as her hips pushed towards him and Ronon couldn’t help but lean forward to rest his hands on either side of her.

‘Come here my husband to be,’ she breathed and wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him into her kiss.

He began thrusting as she kissed him, pushing with some strength against her hips as she thrust back up against him. The slow pace didn’t last this time, Ronon knew he’d never be able to keep his control in this position, his body rubbing along hers, her rigid nipples brushing against him and with every thrust she groaned at the pressure this position placed on her clit.

Keeping some control Ronon managed to thrust harder into her instead of picking up the pace. This had the desired effect of making her break the kiss, her eyes flew open to meet his and she started to grind up against him.

She was close and it still managed to amaze him how she could keep her face calm and full of passion as he strained to keep himself in check while buried deep inside her tight tunnel.

He picked up the pace now, rocking himself as he thrust and dropped his head to her chest to suck on a nipple as he felt her muscles start to clench on him.

‘Come for me, Elizabeth,’ he breathed against her nipple. ‘Take what you need to make our first baby.’

Her chest pushed up against his mouth as she tightened unbelievably around him and he heard the sigh that escaped before she began to moan loudly, her hips rocking hard against him for a moment before she began to once again thrust up against him.

He loved the way she always took from him, stroking the whole of his length as they came together. He could feel his essence escape into her with each downward drag of her hips. Even with her eyes closed, she was more beautiful like this than anything he had ever seen in his entire life.

He collapsed forward, his face against her neck and his body weight on top of her and he panted for breath as she breathed hard beneath him.

‘Thank you,’ she whispered.

‘For what?’ he asked against her neck, unable to pull up and look at her.

‘Everything.’


	6. Chapter 6

She couldn’t believe it, it had been one whole year. She didn’t exactly know what prompted her to remember Ronon’s comment about it being a year since they started seeing each other, but it was there all the same.

Two years ago they had never met, Ronon was still a runner and Lieutenant Ford had just headed out into the unknown after their battle against the Wraith. She glanced at her watch, it had just gone midnight. In eight hours time, Ronon would have been in Atlantis for two whole years.

She had been intimidated by him on that day; he was unknown and more frightening than Halling of the Athosians, larger and stockier than him to start with. It was amazing how much he’d changed from the closed off runner to the affectionate man she knew now.

That thought prompted Elizabeth to look down at him; she was propped up on the bed slightly, resting back against the headboard with a pillow against her lower back to make her comfortable. Ronon however was stretched out on his side across the bed, his head laying in her lap and his right hand resting protectively against her stomach.

Had he always been like this? Or was this the effect she had on him?

Taking in his relaxed face Elizabeth thought back, straining to find a time when he’d been uneasy about something around her. She could only think of one time.

~~**~~  
 **Flashback: Just over a year ago:**  
Elizabeth stood on the balcony watching the waves close to the city as they rolled up and crashed down against the edge of the pier. She’d found this place only a few weeks ago while attempting to hide from Rodney’s constant whining about the experiments she’d forbid him to do.

So far, no one had come out here, but that could have something to do with the times she arrived. It was currently three in the morning; most of the city’s population was fast asleep.

Out here she could drown herself in nothing but the sound of the ocean, if someone was looking for her; there was only one way they could find her. The life signs detector in the control room, and that was always set to the long range scanners.

She didn’t hear the door open as she pulled in a long breath of fresh sea air, there was nothing like this on Earth, the pollution was there where ever you went, but here; nothing.

‘Hey,’ he said in his usual lazy tone and Elizabeth swung around to see who had interrupted her moment’s breath.

‘Ronon,’ she said with a small laugh, ‘you scared the life out of me.’

‘You’re still standing,’ he pointed out with amusement.

She couldn’t help but smile at him; he’d obviously spent far too much time with John Sheppard.

‘So,’ he said moving over to stand against the railing beside her, ‘what brings you out here at this hour of the morning?’

‘The quiet,’ she replied knowing he was watching her, observing her, perhaps even attempting to understand what drove her to stand in the middle of the night on an empty balcony somewhere in a barely explored section of the city. If she were him watching her, she’d be wondering.

‘You know the pier’s a better place,’ he said after a few minutes and Elizabeth turned to look at him, there was unease in his features and she briefly mulled over the possibility that he was just as intimidated by her as she was by him.

‘All it would take is one person to look out a window and see you and you’re caught,’ she said with a satisfied grin. ‘At least here no one can find you without actually stepping out.’

‘Except me.’

She couldn’t stop herself from turning to fully face him, her eyebrow quirked and mischievous grin firmly in place.

‘Why exactly are you here?’ She questioned suspiciously.

‘I was just out for a run,’ he said not too convincingly in her opinion.

‘At three in the morning?’

‘You’re standing here at three in the morning too.’

She had to suppress the laugh at his defensiveness even if it did make him shift his stance a bit before he stood up and took a step back.

Silence fell between them and she turned back to look out over the ocean. It must have been an hour later that she spoke.

‘I better go and attempt something they call sleep,’ she said and watched as he smirked at her, ‘I have an early meeting,’ before he had fully stood up, she smiled fondly at him and left.  
~~**~~

She had to admit, if only to herself, that back in the beginning when he’d first stepped through the gate with John that she’d found him attractive. Tall, dark and mysterious, what woman wouldn’t find him attractive.

She’d been uncomfortable when he’d stood in the control room looking at the ruins of his home world, she’d had to fight the overwhelming emotion of sadness as she watched him; his expression carefully controlled yet his fear and anger placed right in the centre for everyone to see.

She’d wanted to kiss him then, pull him into a comforting embrace; do something – anything to make the pain go away.

She’d only managed to avoid it because of the fact that for most of his first month, he was never alone. Problem after problem in the city finally drove it from her mind. 

Ronon shifted, his hand spreading wider on her stomach for a second and Elizabeth couldn’t help but look down at him. He was so calm, so peaceful from what she remembered in the beginning.

She chuckled at herself as he settled, the memory of him watching a chess game in the mess and the miscommunication between them when he’d gotten up to leave the table. Her heart had thudded in her chest when she’d thought he was going to leave the city, but she’d been quick enough to stop it showing and found an excuse to talking him into staying.

He became more relaxed over the next few months, so it hadn’t been all that surprising that he didn’t feel wrong when he’d stepped out onto the balcony. But she did have to wonder how he had found her.

She shook the memory away as Ronon shifted again and a pained look crossed his features. Elizabeth’s heart leapt at the look he pulled before he settled back, it was a look reminiscent of how he’d been on his return from Sateda, when he’d come back from once again being a runner.

That was the point, she reminded herself returning her eyes to the wall ahead, which she gave into the fact that in the year he’d been there, she’d developed feelings for him.

~~**~~  
 **Flashback: Two days after his return from Sateda:**  
She’d argued with John for hours, he wanted Ronon back on active duty, Carson had given him the all clear, but Heightmeyer was a little reluctant. She told him over and over that she wanted to give Ronon a little more time and all John could say in return was “the best way for him to heal is to get back out there.”

In the end, she’d told him she’d consider it and escaped to where she currently sat. The cold floor of her secret balcony was slowly warming under her backside, but she had ignored it from the beginning. She wanted to just sit here, undisturbed and cry.

Except that she couldn’t cry, in the two whole years they’d been in Atlantis she’d refused to let it happen. “If I feel weak, then I’ll look weak” she told herself over and over until she eventually began to question her own resolve.

Would she go crazy like this, avoiding meetings with Kate Heightmeyer, avoiding her medical checkups with Carson because he had a way of worming information out of her?

She pulled her knees up to her chest and took the radio plug from her ear and placed it on the ground to her left. She’d switched it off after leaving her office and only out of habit had it stayed in place. 

She rested her head on her knees; her face turned to the door and froze. She could see partway down the corridor and there was someone tall and dark making their way down it towards her. The figure paused outside, as if to check the coast was clear and then Ronon stepped out onto the balcony.

She held her breath as he moved to the middle of the space and dropped down onto the bench, laying flat on his back he turned his head towards the door. Elizabeth closed her eyes, a silent prayer that he wouldn’t see her that he’d just stay there in silence for an hour or so then leave.

No such luck.

She heard him sit up, his leathers creaking slightly against the stone bench and his sweater rustling. 

‘Hey,’ he said carefully, ‘you okay?’

She nodded but didn’t move, or speak, she hated that question; “you okay?” she was curled up on the floor of a balcony somewhere near midnight and he had to ask?

‘Just having a bad day,’ she said at last and to her almost horror, Ronon moved to stand beside her and slid down the wall until he was sitting on her right hand side between her and the door.

‘I’m having a bad week,’ he replied and she couldn’t help but give a small laugh at him; he was right after all. She straightened up; keeping her knees pulled in close and looked at him.

‘I’m sorry,’ she said, ‘I should have sent help when Rodney came back through the gate.’

‘With an arrow in his butt,’ he said and she pursued her lips at him.

‘Exactly,’ she looked away, ‘I should have sent another team out there to find you, John and Teyla, but...’ if she was honest, she didn’t know why she hadn’t sent them.

‘It’s okay,’ he said sounding sincere. ‘It was another chance to kill a hundred Wraith,’ she stole a glance and found him smiling, ‘I make that...’ he paused mentally counting something in his head, ‘four hundred fifty-three to me, zero to the Wraith.’

She had to laugh, had to turn away from him and cover her face as she felt the heat rise in her cheeks. How did he do that to her?

‘I didn’t send help because I wanted information from Rodney,’ she confessed, ‘Carson was too quick; Rodney was too high on morphine to give a straight answer,’ she straightened up again, pushing her legs out in front of her. ‘Before I could get anything, John and Teyla came back, I was just...’

She froze, her head pinned against the wall and her mind concentrating on the points of contact.

Ronon had leaned forward, his lips pressed to hers and his right hand on her left hip. The sudden unexpected movement was the only thing keeping her in place, but her fear was slowly taking over and rational thought was creeping back into her brain. 

She reached up out of instinct and pushed him away by the shoulders, his muscles flexed under her touch but she continued to push against him. When he finally relented and moved back she scrambled clumsily to her feet and turned to look down at him.

‘I, erm...’ she stumbled for something to say to ease the pained look on his face, ‘I’m sorry, Ronon. I can’t do this right now.’

She turned and hastily left the room making her way eagerly back to the privacy and seclusion of her bedroom. It wasn’t until she was there that she realised she’d left her radio back on the balcony.  
~~**~~

Elizabeth reached out and ran her fingers over his cheek. It was easy to remember him this way, no pain, no suffering, no fear. Not like he had been after she’d fled the balcony after his sudden kiss.

She remembered finding her radio the next morning sitting on her desk; she had meant to thank him for it. But she hadn’t been able to bring herself to be alone with him. Fear that he would try to repeat the previous day’s kiss was fixed firmly on her mind.

Unconsciously she started to avoid him completely, turning down corridors when she saw him coming, ducking into transports or offices and finding an excuse to be there. During the next few events she had simply avoided eye contact, allowing John to give out her orders instead of having to look at him as she spoke. 

Meetings were harder than expected, she was sure by the look on Teyla’s face that the woman knew something was up. She was thankful that she never asked about it, but that didn’t stop Elizabeth’s continued avoidance of anything to do with Ronon.

When she finally did have to face him and talk directly to him, she could see the pain in his eyes. It cut deep into her like he’d reached out suddenly with one of his many concealed knives and driven it right through her heart.

Stepping up to the open gate ready to visit a friendly people, Elizabeth could feel his eyes on her, she talked to John and Rodney once again finding it hard to meet Ronon’s eye. If she was honest, she would have to admit that his eyes never left her the whole time she was off world. He was like her own personal bodyguard; well him and John anyway.

Meeting the replicators had been a harrowing experience, reading about them from SG-1’s reports had been one thing, meeting them and surviving the experience was something completely different and she found herself thankful that Ronon was there. Why she fixated only on Ronon and not the added over protectiveness of John Sheppard confused her a little, but in the face of the knowledge that she could learn from the replicators, she pushed it aside.

She knew only too well that Ronon had been the first to react as they tried to leave and she watched as he stopped both her and Rodney from sampling the food before him in their cell.

But that was nothing compared to what she saw after the event. She’d been sitting in the infirmary at John’s... demand with Carson taking a blood sample. As he moved away from her and asked her to wait a moment, she caught sight of Ronon, standing in the door way, watching her.

She looked away as Carson returned, and when she glanced up at the door again, he was gone. He’d come to check on her, make sure she was all right, he’d been concerned.

~~**~~  
 **Flashback: Three weeks after the kiss:**  
Released from the infirmary with the order to return to her room and rest, Elizabeth made her way through the personnel section, not to her own room, but towards Ronon’s room.

She had to give him some form of thanks for watching out for her, for being the first to react when she was threatened and for being there in the infirmary, even if he didn’t say anything. But she was to blame for that.

She was to blame.

Elizabeth stopped in the corridor only a few feet from his room, her eyes fixed on the doorway ahead. She waited, hoping her feet would carry her to the door by themselves, but they wouldn’t move. She turned instead and moved quickly back to the stairs.

Once in her own room, she began pacing her feet carrying her easily across the metal floor between the bathroom and her bed.

She wanted to see what it was like to be with him, he was tender, caring and all the things most military men on Earth weren’t. He would respect her for being a woman and for being the leader of Atlantis and she’d respect him for every time he stepped through the gate.

But it wasn’t that easy, for a start she was the leader of Atlantis, she had to set an example for the rest, she couldn’t really be seen with a lover, could she? The IOA or SGC would definitely have something to say about it.

Second of all, he went through the gate; a lot! It was bad enough worrying about the teams being out there with the Wraith without having to add her lover being amongst them.

Then there was the small unavoidable question about what would happen when the intimacy came into play. She’d made the mistake when she was younger in asking her mom why people had sex, she’d expected a “to make babies” sort of answer or for her mom to avoid the topic all together.

Instead though, her mother had started from that day attempting to drive it home that men didn’t even want to please a woman. In her mother’s opinion, men would take what they wanted and leave you in the dark, at least that’s how she put it.

It wasn’t until she was 17 that she had learned why. She’d learned that when her mom was only 13, her friend had been pulled into the back of a white van while they had been walking home. The friend had been found three days later left in the middle of the road, beaten, abused and raped.

In the back of her head, Elizabeth knew that not all men were like this, not all men would be this cruel and heartless. There were men like that, but it didn’t help, she was still afraid that her mother’s insecurity over intimacy had been right.

She’d have to explain this to Ronon, like she had done with past boyfriends, only one of them had actually stuck with her after this story. Simon had tried desperately to teach her otherwise, but it hadn’t helped, she had always felt uncomfortable with it.

Elizabeth dropped down on the bed and leaned forward to place her head in her hands, wanting it and not wanting to face it were the worst feelings in the world.

Wanting to love and be loved yet being afraid of the outcome was horrible.

She was sure without a doubt that she could handle the IOA, the SGC and even the comments of the people in Atlantis and on the Daedalus. The only thing really stopping her was a story of watching one 13 year old girl fall apart as she attempted to live on after being abused and raped.

Frustrated, Elizabeth pushed back to her feet and resumed pacing the room, she kicked at the chair as she first passed it and continued her earlier track. The torment in her mind continued for almost an hour more until she couldn’t stand it anymore. There was only one way to find out if Ronon would still accept her with her fear, and that was to try.

She turned, left her room and headed back towards his room, she didn’t hesitate, didn’t stop to think it over. She only stopped when she was standing in front of his room and had already rung the chime.

Waiting outside she flew quickly over the possibilities of what she could and would do when he opened the door. She had no doubt she would want to kiss him, the memory of the last kiss was still lingering on her mind, but that would give him the wrong idea.

She reached out again and rung the chime. She could just wrap her arms around him, pull him into a strong hug and feel his chest against her cheek and his strong muscles as he would undoubtedly respond to the intrusion.

Or she could just jump him, she thought with a smile, strip him down and run her hands all over his sexy body, feel the muscles, feel the skin…. She definitely didn’t have enough courage to do that but it was fun to think about.

She turned away from his door, he wasn’t in, it was… she checked her watch, almost midnight, where was he?

_“I was out for a run.”_

She remembered the words as if it had been yesterday. She moved quickly towards the nearest transporter and tapped the screen harder than she should. At the other end she almost ran down the corridor stopping only when she was standing at the fogged glass door of the balcony.

Ronon was standing at the end, bent with his arms leaning on the railing. She took a deep breath before opening the door and stepping out, the cool breeze instantly whipping at her face.

Ronon stood up straight and turned, his eyes falling on her for a moment before he awkwardly dropped his head and then turned it to the side.

‘You know,’ she started hoping to break the uncomfortable feeling that had settled between them, ‘you never did tell me how you found me out here.’

‘Yes I did,’ he said looking back up with a grin firmly in place, ‘I was out for a run.’

She moved a few steps forward keeping the bench between them and giving him a look that clearly stated she didn’t believe him.

‘I don’t believe you,’ she added making sure he understood.

‘Tell me why you were really down here and I’ll tell you the truth.’

‘I told you, I was down here for some quiet time,’ she said and he gave her a suspicious look, ‘from Rodney,’ she added and watched his lips twist into a smirk.

‘I met up with McKay about an hour before I found you,’ Ronon admitted turning back to look over the railing. ‘He was looking for you, something about having another reason to run some experiment. He’d looked everywhere.’

She gave a short huff of a laugh and moved around so she could sit on the bench facing him.

‘I asked the control room to find anyone who was outside normally populated areas and this was the second place I tried.’

‘Why?’

‘I was gonna tell you McKay wanted to see you,’ he said turning to look at her. She stood up and moved towards the railing and looked out over the ocean. It was the moment’s silence with his eyes on her face that made her turn.

‘But I found it more interesting to just stay here with you and make McKay suffer.’

She smiled at him, turning her body to look at him as well as her face. She studied him for a moment, watching the unease he was battling against.

‘You checked I wasn’t here the second time, after you’d been back from Sateda.’

Ronon dropped his head and turned it away from her; she could see him battling to say something that promised to be slightly inappropriate.

‘I didn’t want to find you here,’ he said honestly but wouldn’t turn back to look at her. ‘I…’ he paused, pulled in a long shuddering breath and turned to face her. ‘I wanted to do more than kiss you.’

Without realising it, Elizabeth took a cautious step backwards. She knew what he meant by that, it was hard not to know that he’d wanted to take her the first chance he got.

‘Sorry,’ he muttered turning back to look at the night view. ‘It was stupid to think you were even interested in someone like me.’

‘Ronon,’ she said taking a step forwards again and waiting for him to turn and face her. When he was finally looking she took a calming deep breath and closed the gap between them to wrap her arms around him. ‘I am interested,’ she muttered against his chest, ‘I just can’t jump into that yet.’

Ronon didn’t say anything; he just wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. She felt his cheek against the top of her head and felt his chest expand as he took a deep breath of her in.  
~~**~~

Ronon shifted on the bed and Elizabeth looked back down at him to see him watching her.

‘You’re still awake,’ he said, his thumb brushing lightly at the base of her stomach.

‘Just remembering how this started with us.’

‘I hate to say it,’ he said sitting up slightly, ‘but we have McKay to thank.’

Elizabeth groaned and sank down on the bed under him. She had to squeeze her eyes shut at the thought that Rodney McKay had any part to play in her relationship with Ronon Dex.

‘You shouldn’t have said it,’ she whispered, ‘that’ll put a dampener on your sex life for good.’

‘Not while you’re laying there naked it won’t.’

She chuckled at him and opened her eyes to watch him as he moved. Once he was lying at her side she turned her head to him.

‘What’s your best memory?’

‘I take it you want a better answer than “when you slowly made love to me”.’

She smiled at him and waited quietly for him to give a sensible answer.

‘Our first real kiss,’ he said as he stretched his arm over her to pull her onto her side and close to him. ‘Sitting on the balcony with a picnic,’ he continued, ‘I was resting against the bench, you against me and you just turned and kissed me.’

Elizabeth leaned in and repeated the kiss she’d given him that day, it had been lunch time and he’d sneaked her away from her desk to the picnic without anyone noticing. She had meant to just say thank you, but found it hard to resist the contented look on his face as she’d turned, so she kissed him.

It had been the first time their lips had met since that sudden kiss Ronon had pushed on her after being back on Sateda.

‘What’s yours?’ he asked pulling her close so she could rest her head on his chest.

Elizabeth sighed, placing her hand on his chest and closing her eyes as she ran quickly through the past year’s worth of private moments between them.

‘Walking into my office one morning to find some beautiful blue flowers on my desk,’ she said after a moment. ‘I remember wondering where you got them from when Katie came to see me about someone stealing her prized hybrid plants over night.’

She felt Ronon’s chest shudder underneath her, he was finding the memory just as funny; he had been standing in the control room as Katie left.

‘Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep a straight face when you know who did it?’ she asked him, lifting her head enough to see his face. ‘Do you realise I was so thankful for having dropped my jacket on them as she came in? What if she’d seen them?’

‘You would have told the truth.’

‘I would have told her they were there when I got in.’

‘The truth,’ he said and kissed her forehead.

‘I love those flowers,’ she said, ‘they’re in the tall slim vase the Teyla gave me for the last festival the Athosians had,’ Elizabeth rested her head back on his chest and sighed contentedly again. ‘I’m used to falling asleep with them in my view when you’re not with me.’

Silence fell and she couldn’t help but close her eyes and take a breath of him as she drifted into a peaceful sleep, the image of the simple blue flowers in her mind and the hope that they, in the night’s festivities, had created their first child.


	7. Chapter 7

She watched from her desk as the new scientists moved haphazardly around the control room. Each of them was fresh off the Daedalus and each eager to install a new piece of equipment that would give them more control over the Stargate.

It was amazing to her, how anyone could be so excited about some low tech piece of machinery when surrounded by the glorious technology of Atlantis. But it seemed that these people had their wires crossed.

She shook her head and turned to look out the window and down at the gate. John and his team had been gone for two days now, and that meant Ronon had been gone too. They were due back any minute now and she was both excited and a little afraid by this.

Ronon had brought up their hidden relationship once again and she had brushed it off as something to talk about later. But as he’d moved away from her side he’d whispered the words “when I get back then”.

She missed him; their new room was very cold and lonely without him to snuggle up against. That accounted for why she was so anxious to see him, or in her mind, be alone with him.

An argument broke out amongst the new scientists and Elizabeth got to her feet and headed to the control room. She stopped just short of the group and watched as two of the men battled over which wire went in which slot. She gave in when they caught sight of her and she passed the group and stood leaning against the banister of the top stairs to watch them.

One glance around at the normal activities told her things were going well today, no problems with systems, no unexpected occurrences with the other departments; which was rare, and no sign of any danger heading their way. The gate behind her began to dial and Elizabeth checked her watch.

‘Right on time,’ she muttered more to herself than anyone else and gave Chuck a knowing nod.

She turned and watched the gate open and the group of four stepped through, no injuries and no worry on their faces, just nicely tanned and somewhat sweaty from the heat of their previous location. She was slightly jealous and a little relieved she hadn’t been there.

She turned and took the first set of stairs easily. She rounded the corner with a smile and then a bright white light and a flash of heat rushed over her before the nothingness took over.

~~**~~**~~

He stood shocked, unable to take in what he’d just seen. It can’t have happened, not again.

Elizabeth had stepped into view with a bright smile on her face and her eyes fixed on him, he knew it wouldn’t last, that she’d have to turn away and give the same eye contact to Teyla on his left and John and Rodney on his right. But that hadn’t happened.

He’d heard the spark, and was ready to draw his eyes up to the control room when the explosion had echoed through the room and he’d watched in stunned horror as Elizabeth fell.

Her footing lost, her balance tipped by the sudden sound as she’d tried to turn and see what had happened. The fire had shot out from the control room and looked almost as if it had engulfed her. She tipped and he watched as she missed the next step and tumbled down.

John had moved quickly, but not quick enough. She’d hit head first on the stairs and then rolled down to take another crack at the floor beneath. 

Now she just lay there limp and unresponsive.

John was shouting commands, Teyla attempting to wake her and Rodney rushing up the stairs to help in the control room. But Ronon still couldn’t move. He was glued to the spot helplessly watching as Teyla’s hand dipped under Elizabeth’s cheek to find the pulse on the side of her neck.

He heard footsteps and turned to watch as too slowly Carson and his team entered the room and made their way to the injured. Up in the control room, Rodney was shouting for help, and several of the men darted up the stairs to lend assistance while the doctor remained at the bottom.

Time seemed to rush, fly quickly suddenly as sound hit Ronon’s ears and his body became sharply aware that the woman he loved was still unconscious at the bottom of the gate room’s main stairwell. He took a few steps quickly forward and tried to get to her side, his heart rushing with fear.

He’d seen this before, done this before, on Sateda during the war he’d seen the fire dart out behind Melena and take over her. He’d protected the child in his arms back then only to drop her to the floor a moment later and rush to her side. Dead!

He pushed Teyla to the side and instantly felt hands on his arms, several sets of them in fact and they dragged him back, away from her with all their strength. He pushed back, his ears only hearing John as he shouted for the airmen around them to help.

He felt the wall against his back and ignored it. Carson and the few medics who had stayed to help her were lifting her onto the gurney and he would have only a few seconds while they gathered their things to join them before she was out of his sight.

‘Ronon.’

He ignored it, his eyes watching as the gurney was pushed out of the room and down a corridor.

‘Ronon,’ John said again but he ignored it.

‘Let me go,’ he shouted and he could feel the eyes of several confused people watching him as he pushed against the hands of the five people holding him back. ‘She’s gone.’

‘She’s alive,’ John said, ‘Ronon,’ Ronon turned to look at him at last, ‘she’s alive; she’s in the infirmary.’

Ronon felt himself relax, his body going limp in their hands and he sank to the ground. He felt the cold metal under his hands as he leaned forward and took a few deep and calming breaths. She was alive.

‘Ronon,’ John said and he lifted his head to look at the man, ‘I want to let you go to the infirmary, but I’ll have you removed if you get in the way down there.’

Ronon nodded and slowly climbed to his feet, this was not how he had envisioned his return. If he was honest, he wouldn’t have got what he’d actually visualised anyway. What he wanted when he stepped through the gate was a beautiful and pregnant wife rushing to wrap her arms around him.

He would have settled for her beautiful smile as she stopped in front of them to get her short report before relieving them to their medical check up and shower before the meetings started.

~~**~~**~~

She knew instantly that something wasn’t quite right. For a start, she was laying on her back in the middle of the gate room. Then she added the quiet to the list, there was no sound of the gate dialling or the scientists arguing. There was just nothing.

‘General?’ someone said to her right and she pried her eyes open to look at the stranger, he was looking across the room at someone out of her field of vision.

Slowly she sat up and turned, following the man as he moved across the room and joined John at the bottom of the stairs. He looked different, more composed, more mature, more aged.

She didn’t hear the order he gave, he spoke too quietly, but the man saluted and said clear as day “Yes General” and then left. Elizabeth quirked an eyebrow, that was definitely wrong.

She watched John turn and start up the stairs, she had to get up and turn around fully to watch him as he crossed the control room, signing a few things as he moved, and crossed the bridge to take a seat behind her desk in her office. She frowned this time and moved from the middle of the room and up the stairs.

‘What are you doing?’ she asked him as she stepped into the office, but he didn’t seem to hear her. ‘John,’ she said firmly, but got no reply, no acknowledgement that she was there. ‘John,’ she tried again louder this time, but again he ignored her.

Confused, she looked back into the control room. There was someone new sitting at the console for the gate controls, the new equipment was being manned by someone from the Daedalus and the usual faces of her control staff were nowhere around.

She turned back to John and studied his appearance, it seemed that time had passed for him; she could pick out grey streaks in his hair where he’d aged. He had wrinkles under his eyes that indicated more age than she’d care to guess at.

‘Hey,’ she turned as a boy stepped into the room behind her and moved over to the desk. He placed a palm computer on the desk and sat down. ‘Dad said you needed that.’

‘Thanks,’ John said and picked up the palm computer.

Elizabeth frowned at the boy, he was no more than eight and his eyes held signs that he hadn’t slept much lately and that he’d been crying recently. But there was something unmistakable about him. His long hair was dreadlocked and his strong features gave him a decidedly Ronon look.

‘Something else?’

‘You should get some rest Uncle John,’ he said sounding much older than the small boy she saw.

‘So should you, and your dad for that matter.’

‘Not to mention, Rodney, Radek, Aunt Teyla, Kia and Nalani. No one’s slept much.’

‘Well it’s not really hard to guess why.’

‘As you always told mom,’ he said making Elizabeth consider who his mom was, ‘you’re no good to the city and the team if you’re out cold in the infirmary.’

‘Wise woman,’ John said dryly. ‘You should go back before your dad sends out the search party.’

‘You still coming for dinner?’ the boy asked and John finally looked up at him, his eyes having previously been fixed on the palm computer.

‘I don’t know,’ John said and Elizabeth watched as the boy nodded and left the room.

John sat fiddling with device for a moment before he turned it over. Elizabeth’s eyes opened wide; on the back of the small computer was an engraving, the letters “EWD” were etched into the black casing, the “D” of which was slightly detached and in a different hand.

Ronon had not days ago etched the letters “EW” in the back of her PDA, she had found herself finding comfort in the feel of the rough plastic since then.

She turned quickly and ran from the room taking the steps quickly and navigating the corridors until she caught sight of the boy who had moments ago been in her office.

She followed him down a few more corridors and stopped when she turned into the empty hallway that led to the door of hers and Ronon’s new room. He vanished quickly behind the door and Elizabeth took a sudden breath in.

EWD; Elizabeth Weir-Dex. She had just watched her eight year old son walk into her room.

~~**~~**~~

‘Concussion,’ Carson said as he shone the light in her eyes, ‘and a light burn on her arms,’ he added as he checked the nurses holding cold cloths to the back of her arms.

‘Sprained ankle,’ one of the nurses added as she examined the bruising she’d just uncovered.

‘Ay,’ Carson said looking down her, ‘other than that she’s fine,’ he said and spotted Ronon out the corner of his eyes. He ignored his own confusion at the man’s previous reaction and returned to his patient. ‘She’ll be out for a few hours; we’ll give her a scan in an hour if she’s not awake.’

He moved away from her, leaving the nurses to deal with the slight swelling and burns she’d suffered. He was a little confused when Ronon stopped him, swallowed and motioned towards her.

‘She has nothing more than a bump to the head, a few burns and a sprained ankle, all of which will heal.’

‘Can I sit with her?’

Carson caught sight of John standing just to the side of his view; he turned his head slightly and looked at him. John nodded and Carson took this to mean he knew what was going on.

‘Give the nurses a minute to finish up and then you can stay with her all you like.’

‘Thanks doc,’ he said and Carson eyed him with confusion for a moment before moving over to give John his report.

~~**~~**~~

She couldn’t breathe; she couldn’t believe what she’d just seen, her son; her own son with Ronon. Her mind was racing, over the event she'd just seen, him sitting in her office, handing over her palm computer. The list of people he'd said needed sleep.

Rodney, Radek, Teyla, Kia and Nalani.

She stepped forward, stopping just short of the door and stared at it. Behind this door was her family.

With a shaking hand she reached out and tried to activate the panel and open the door. But nothing happened. She tried again and again nothing happened. She jumped back as the door opened.

‘Kia, Lani I don’t want you going too far, stay in this tower.’

‘Yes dad,’ one of the girls called back and Elizabeth watched the two identical girls go solemnly down the corridor and around the corner.

She was torn for a moment, wanting to follow her daughters through the city, find out where they went. Yet she wanted to see her son again and see Ronon. She’d waited so long to see Ronon.

She turned back and stepped into the room just as the doors closed and she took in the dark room. The light was off, yet she could see the hunched figure on the chair in the middle.

‘Dad.’ 

Elizabeth let out as she turned and saw the boy standing in the door way to one of the bedrooms, the light from his room gave him a slight glow and she couldn’t hold back the tears that escaped as she studied his features.

‘I told you to do your homework,’ Ronon said from his place on the couch.

The boy ignored him and moved away from the door and over to sit beside him. She choked back a sob as she watched him reach out and place a comforting hand on his father’s shoulder.

‘I finished it this morning,’ he said carefully, ‘before...’ his words died off and she saw his head drop. ‘I miss her dad,’ he said and Elizabeth could hear the pain in his voice. ‘I want mom back,’ he sobbed and she had to bring her hands up to cover her mouth as he started to cry.

Ronon turned in his seat and Elizabeth caught a glimpse of his face, soaked in silent tears, before he wrapped his arms around the boy and pulled him close.

‘Its okay, Soren,’ he whispered. ‘She’ll always watch over you three.’

She turned and moved towards the door, ignoring that it didn’t open for her and she was able to step through and out into the bright corridor. Realisation had sunk in hard and fast, here, in the future, she was dead.

~~**~~**~~

‘I guess I screwed up a little,’ Ronon said, his hand wrapped tightly around hers. ‘I couldn’t stop myself; you scared the hell out of me.’

He sat back in the chair and looked quickly over his shoulder. A group of nurses were huddled together near the door. As he turned he noticed they’d been talking but now they stood quietly checking the results of some tests.

‘I guess we won’t need to talk about telling people,’ he said turning back to Elizabeth, still lying unconscious, ‘I think they’ve worked it out now.’

‘A little too quickly,’ John said stopping behind him.

‘You already knew,’ Ronon said reaching out to search for the necklace she usually wore. ‘Her necklace is gone,’ Ronon said quickly looking around the small area for it. ‘Where’s her necklace?’ He pushed up quickly and turned to face John.

‘What necklace?’

‘She had a silver necklace; she put the ring on it when she was out of our room.’

‘We weren’t here this morning; she could have forgotten to put it on.’

‘No,’ he said, leaving her bedside and starting towards Carson on the other side of the infirmary, ‘where’s her necklace?’

‘I haven’t seen a necklace lad,’ the doctor told him. Ronon turned quickly and crossed the room; he glared at the nurses as he left the room.

‘Ronon,’ John called after him, following him down the hall and around the corner. He ignored him, moving quickly back to the control room. He stepped in and looked quickly around, his eyes taking in the floor near the stairs and the area immediately around them.

When he found nothing, he crossed the room and took the stairs up to the control room; his eyes always searching the ground as he moved.

‘Where is it?’ he asked almost frantically as he stepped into Elizabeth’s office, he couldn’t believe it was gone, the ring he’d given her, the promise of love. He hunted around her desk before heading to the door.

‘Ronon.’

‘What?’ he snapped turning back to John and finding Teyla standing beside him. Teyla was holding something out to him, her hand fisted and one finger held out with a silver chain dangling from it. At the end of the silver chain was the platinum ring John had given up so Ronon could propose.

He moved over to them, his eyes fixed on the dangling ring at the end of the chain and his heart relaxed.

‘It was at the bottom of the stairs,’ Teyla said, ‘I was going to give it back to her later.’

‘Thank you,’ he said reaching out and hesitantly taking the necklace from Teyla. He studied the ring, feeling it under his fingers. ‘Thank you,’ he said again before turning and leaving the room through the side door.

~~**~~**~~

She had wandered the corridors for a while, aimlessly taking in the silence of the city, the solemn faces of the people in it and the less than enthusiastic efforts of them to complete their jobs.

There was a gap in the people’s day, a silent longing or wishing that she was there to step in and distract them. On slow days like this, she would have wandered the city, stopped in on several departments and had conversations with the people.

It never mattered what they talked about, home, family, work, anything. It seemed they missed that here.

‘Teyla.’

Elizabeth stopped at the familiar name and turned to find the Athosian walking along behind her. Further back down the hall, a marine was heading towards her.

‘Nakareya and Nalani are in the lower lab again.’

‘Thank you,’ she said and turned her back to Elizabeth and headed back the way they had come. Elizabeth followed, ducking into the transporter with Teyla and then following her to the lower levels of the command tower.

She stopped, her breath caught, as she stepped into the room. It was black; the walls stretching from ceiling to floor were pitch black. The table in the middle was untouched as were the chairs that lay scattered around the room.

Teyla circled the room and crouched behind the table. Elizabeth followed after a moment and found both her daughters sitting with their backs against the desk side staring at something ahead of them.

‘Can’t we just sit here?’ one of them asked, turning to look teary eyed at Teyla.

‘You know I can’t let you do that Kia,’ Teyla said and reached out as the girl dropped her head and her dark curls dropped down over her face. She heard the girl sigh and realised suddenly just how much like herself these kids were. She did that, took a deep sigh when she had trouble controlling her emotions.

‘I want mommy,’ Lani said shifting from beside her sister and into Teyla’s arms.

‘I know,’ Teyla said helping Kia up from the floor and picking Lani up so they could leave the room together. They were younger than their brother, by no more than two years and their sweet innocent faces were already older than they should have been.

Elizabeth looked around at the space they had been staring at and froze. The black ran solid down the wall to stop abruptly along the floor; it changed from the darkness to the white of the city wall in the shape of a person.

She took a step back; this was why the girls had come here, why Ronon had told them not to. This was where she had died; where she was going to die.

~~**~~**~~

He kept the necklace tight in his hand, his head resting on her hip, fingers toying with her hand and his eyes closed. It had been three hours; her scan had shown nothing wrong, she was simply unconscious.

‘Ronon,’ her tired voice reverberated through his skull as though it were an empty cave, ‘what happened?’ He sat up and pulled himself to his feet so he could look down at her face.

‘The console was wired wrong,’ he said, ‘it exploded, took you off guard, you fell.’

Her eyes drifted shut and he watched the flicker of pain shift across her face. Her head would be pounding by now, he’d been in a similar situation long ago and he wouldn’t wish the headache on his enemies. 

‘You sprained your ankle,’ he said, ‘you’ll get me waiting on you hand and two good feet for a while. She laughed and he couldn’t hide the smile from hearing it.

‘I had a very strange dream,’ she said, ‘I was dead, killed in some lab accident. You were sitting in the dark in our room, our son at your side while our twin daughters,’ she said releasing his hands and drawing her fingers across his cheek, ‘were sitting in the lab missing me.’

‘Twin girls and a boy,’ he said leaning down and placing a tender kiss on her lips. ‘I can’t wait to meet them.’

‘I hope I won’t ever have to leave them like that,’ she said and he caught the next few tears that slipped from her eyes.

‘You scared me with that fall,’ he admitted, taking her hand and trapping her ring between their palms. ‘I don’t know what I’d do without you.’

He watched her, a tear slipping down the side of her face and the emotional smile that slipped into place.

‘Just don’t sit in the dark.’


	8. Chapter 8

Ronon lay awake watching her sleep, they’d lived in this room for just over a month now and he couldn’t help himself. She was just as beautiful as the day he had met her but something had changed, something he couldn’t put his finger on.

She lay partly on her side, her right hip pointing more towards him than directly up. Her right hand was draped across her hip, she was pretty much leaning against him. Dressed in his shirt and nothing more, she shifted in her sleep and he suddenly realised that she looked extremely dainty in his oversized clothes.

He reached out and ran his hand over her hip, his mind wandering back to the first time he had thought something had changed. It had been last week, they’d come back to their room late and she was wide awake. The day had been one of excitement and fun and she was far from a sleeping mood.

They’d made love that night, her on top and as she’d sat back on him, he’d taken her hips in his hands and thought they were wider than he remembered. Or he could have just been imagining it because they hadn’t had time together like that for over two weeks.

He would love to think that right now she was carrying his child; that her hips had changed to accommodate the growth. That thought was extremely arousing to him and he couldn’t resist shifting his hand from her hips to her stomach. They had wanted this for over six months now; since their first time.

The touch of her still flat stomach did nothing to take away the spreading arousal that came with being close to her body as he was now. He shifted down and his fingers found the edge of his top and the soft skin of her thigh underneath it.

He thought he’d woken her when she shifted, but she merely got comfortable against him again, heaved a sigh and feel back into her dreams.

Ronon quirked an eyebrow, his mind running through the possibilities, the idea that he could arouse her or even make her come without waking her up. He shifted his hand slowly, brushing his fingers delicately up her thigh. He skipped over her hip and drifted them across her stomach underneath his shirt.

He moved up slowly and ghosted his touch along the bottom of her breasts and started to move a dangerously teasing path back down, when he was interrupted.

The radio buzzed and Ronon froze, he let his eyes slip closed, this is what he got for teasing himself first thing in the morning. The radio buzzed again and Elizabeth stirred, slowly pulling out of her sleep. She moved from his arms without glancing at him, picked up her ear piece and tucked it into her ear.

‘Yes,’ she said shortly and Ronon couldn’t help but smile at how grumpy she could get if you woke her up early in the morning. He hoped for the person on the other end of the radio that it was something important. ‘I’ll be right there,’ she said and ripped the radio receiver from her ear.

Ronon watched as she stood up and stretched, his eyes caught on the very top of her thigh as she reached up above her head and his shirt moved up coming extremely close to showing off her backside. She turned, rounded the bed and leaned down over him to kiss him.

‘Stop watching my ass,’ she said with a smile. ‘I need to go, I’ll see you later,’ she kissed him again and made her way to the bathroom to wash and change.

~~**~~

‘You seem nervous,’ Jack said watching the doctor as he fiddled with his own fingers.

‘I’m not sure she’ll like me showing up like this,’ he said and Jack watched as he turned back to the window and looked out over the city they had just docked by. ‘I can see why she likes it though, it’s...’ he trailed off clearly at a loss for a suitable word.

‘Amazing, magnificent, incredible,’ Jack offered, ‘all of the above?’

‘Yes,’ he said dumbly not turning back from the sight.

‘You’ll just be filling in for Doctor Biro for a few months, nothing too complicated; what can possibly go wrong?’

‘What are you doing here?’

Jack turned abruptly at the stern sound in Elizabeth’s voice, he quirked a brow and attempted not to grin at the look of shock on her face.

‘I’m on vacation,’ Jack said giving in to his grin and receiving an un-amused look from Elizabeth. ‘I take it you know Doctor Simon Wallace?’

He’d always thought that there was no woman that could make him feel stupid and uncomfortable, but then again, even from day one Elizabeth had managed to hold something over him. It was clear to him the reason why John Sheppard respected her so much.

‘Doctor Wallace is here to take over for Doctor Biro,’ he offered, seeing Simon finally turn around but keep his distance. ‘She needs to go back with us, family issue; she’ll be gone for a few months.’

‘No,’ she said simply.

‘Elizabeth...’ Simon tried.

‘No,’ she said again not looking away from Jack. ‘I turned down his application to join the expedition for a reason General.’

‘I’m aware of that, Doctor,’ he said catching onto her use of his rank instead of his name, ‘but there was no one else available at such short notice who’s life wouldn’t be completely messed up by this little excursion.’

‘No,’ she said again and briskly left the room.

~~**~~

‘Hey,’ John said stepping up to the food table beside Ronon, ‘how’s it going?’

‘Badly,’ he said snatching up a sandwich from the choice and moving back towards the exit. John scanned the table quickly, seized a chicken salad sandwich and followed him back out.

‘Hey,’ he called jogging down the corridor to catch up to Ronon. ‘What’s going on?’

‘I don’t know,’ he said, ‘something with the Daedalus,’ he said turning and stepping out onto a balcony. ‘Elizabeth was called in early this morning when it arrived, she’s been in a bad mood since, won’t talk to anyone.’

‘She’s been in a bad mood for days.’

‘I’m worried about her, Sheppard. She went to see Carson a few days ago and refuses to tell me why,’ he dropped his sandwich onto the bench and turned his head to look out over the ocean. ‘Other than one night a few days ago, she won’t let me touch her, in any way and won’t talk to me. I think I’ve gone too far.’

‘What do you mean “too far”?’

‘Am I going too fast with a woman who’s afraid of being used, sexually?’ he asked. 

John had to think about this, he hadn’t considered that the reason Ronon needed to give her experience in sex was because she was afraid of it, he just thought she didn’t have much of it before Ronon set foot in the city.

‘In the space of a year, I’ve dated her in private, pushed her into having sex when I knew she wasn’t ready, stopped her from taking this... birth control stuff and then asked her to marry me.’

‘Whoa,’ John said tripping over the comment about birth control, ‘she’s not on the pill?’

‘Hasn’t taken it for almost seven months now,’ he said with a shrug, ‘we both want children,’ he added half heartedly.

John had to force himself off that topic; it had only been two and a half months since Ronon had invited him into his room and into their love life. In two and a half months, she could be carrying his child without anyone knowing.

‘Well,’ he said swallowing a few times to give himself a moment to think of an appropriate response to the original question, he finally licked his lips and continued, ‘if she hadn’t wanted any of it, she would have said no and pushed you away long ago.’

Ronon nodded mutely, and John considered that this was all for nothing, she could simply be having a bad day; maybe Caldwell had started something troublesome this morning.

‘O’Neill’s here,’ Ronon said after a short silence. ‘I’ve seen him around.’

‘Didn’t Elizabeth have a meeting with him a couple of months ago?’

‘Five weeks ago,’ Ronon said. ‘She requested the meeting.’

‘Why?’

‘To find out if there would be any repercussions from seeing someone under her command.’

John waited, he didn’t want to ask what the outcome had been; he simply waited, hoping Ronon would tell him.

‘He told her there were no rules against her dating an alien.’

John winced, even coming from Ronon using the term “alien” seemed wrong to him, it wasn’t fair, to him or Teyla. They had both been a part of the expedition for years now and still the SGC saw them as outsiders. It was more of a shock that General Jack O’Neill, of all people, had used the term.

‘She still won’t talk about telling people about us.’

‘John.’

John turned to see Elizabeth standing out on the balcony and quirked a brow, he wondered briefly how long she had been standing there. Had she heard the whole conversation or had she just heard the last line of it?

Ronon hadn’t moved, he seemed, to John at least, to be holding his breath and waiting for the downfall of his last comment.

Giving in to the uncomfortable feeling that had suddenly settled around them, John smiled at her and quickly stepped past her and back into the city.

~~**~~

She let the silence kick in, she wanted to have the chance to think this through, take a deep breath and calm herself down. As it was her emotions were running on an all time high, but to listen to Ronon’s insecurities was just frustrating.

Elizabeth had to admit he was right though, she had been distant, disconnected and distracted; the three “D’s” of disaster. But she did have a reason to be this way.

Not one year ago she had nothing but her job, granted it was a brilliant job sat in the middle of a beautiful and technologically advanced city thousands of light years from home; but she still had nothing.

Now, suddenly she had everything; and it scared her.

The emotions that ran through her body every time she was with Ronon were beyond anything she’d ever experienced in her life. Even her fears were canvassed by these emotions. To top it off, when they were alone together, she could see the same emotions mirrored in his eyes.

He was strong, loving, tender all at the same time, yet he wasn’t afraid to let her take control when she needed to. For a year they had hidden their feelings from everyone else in the city, for one year, they had learned everything about each other while no one else knew a thing.

She was tired of hiding it, not to mention that soon it would become impossible. For a start, how would they get married without people knowing it?

She hadn’t moved since she had stepped out here, she’d seen them come out, waited a moment then followed. The last thing she had expected when stepping out into the cool air of the planet was to hear Ronon telling John that she wouldn’t talk to him about them.

She moved, taking the few steps across the balcony to stand at the railing and in his view.

‘I’ve been trying to work out how to tell everyone,’ she said quietly, ‘I don’t know if it would be best to just let them work it out for themselves or make an announcement.’

Silence fell again; she knew he would be considering that most of them probably knew by now. A month ago she had taken a fall down the gate room stairs and scared the life out of him. He hadn’t cared to hide his feelings then and knew a lot of the expedition members had seen it.

‘I don’t want to hide anymore,’ she said and dropped her head, ‘I can’t.’

Elizabeth turned and found Ronon watching her, the hurt in his eyes was evident and it almost broke her heart to see it. She moved away from the railing and over to the bench where he sat and purposely stopped in front of him.

‘I love you, Ronon,’ she said clearly and confidently, ‘no one else,’ she added, ‘I need you to remember that, no matter what you hear.’

‘What happened this morning?’ he asked reaching daringly out to touch her hip.

‘Doctor Biro has to go home for a few months, Jack brought someone to replace her,’ she said easily. ‘The man taking her place is the man I was going to marry before I came here.’

She could see his face darken with the information, having this man in the city was the very last thing she wanted or needed at the moment. Having to deal with him and Ronon at the same time was even more daunting though.

‘Do you still love him?’

‘No,’ she said firmly and without hesitation, ‘I love you, he hurt me, Ronon, when I went home after that first year, he had been seeing someone else.’

‘He hurt you?’ She could see that little snippet of information playing over in his mind and she suspected that it was accompanied with a dozen or so ways to kill the man in two seconds.

‘I love you, Ronon,’ she said again reaching out and flattening her palm over his cheek, ‘I’m going to marry you,’ she reached down and took his hand from off the bench. ‘Together we’re gonna raise our baby,’ she added placing his hand on her belly.

His eyes shot up to her face, he’d been following the placement of his hand, but couldn’t hold that location once the words had left her mouth. She didn’t know what she expected him to do with the information. Jump up and down; scream it out to everyone within hearing range.

She didn’t expect him to do something as simple as leaning in and nuzzling his face against her stomach or for him to lift her top and place a delicate kiss as low as he possibly could.

Elizabeth dropped her head down and ran her hands through his hair at the contact. He turned his head and rested his cheek on her skin and stretched his arms around her back to pull her closer.

‘What the...’ Elizabeth turned to see Rodney standing in the open doorway, behind him a few people who were milling around had seen them and were quickly drawing the attention of others. ‘You know what, I don’t wanna know. I just wanted to know if I could run that city wide computer diagnostic to find out what’s slowing us down. I figured it would be better to do it while the Daedalus was in the area.’

She just smiled and looked down at Ronon who had yet to let her go, but she didn’t really care if he held her captive there all day.

‘Sure Rodney, go ahead,’ she said without looking back at him. 

It was a moment later after she heard the door close, that she shifted in Ronon’s arms and managed to sit down in his lap. He shifted with her, placing one hand firmly on her stomach and nuzzling against her neck.

‘What’s in your sandwich?’ she asked and felt him grin against her skin.

‘Turkey salad,’ he said and placed a kiss on the bone of her shoulder.

‘I’m hungry, but I’m not that hungry,’ she said.

‘Want me to take the turkey out?’

‘No,’ she said wrapping an arm around him and leaning against him, ‘I’ll go get something in a minute.’

~~**~~

‘How’s it going Rodney,’ Elizabeth asked stepping into the control room.

‘You know he’ll fit in quicker if you invite him off the Daedalus,’ Jack said following her into the room.

‘I just started,’ Rodney spat, ‘I figured I’d do your computer first then work on the control room set and then move to the labs.’

‘He won’t get to know the city stuck on that ship,’ Jack added.

‘Who won’t?’ Rodney asked looking over her shoulder at him.

‘No one,’ she said, ‘how long will this take?’

‘Oh about five or ten minutes per computer, 38 tablets, 78 laptops, 76 palm computers.’

‘You can’t work with two doctors for a few months Elizabeth, what choice d’you have,’ Jack tried

‘I can ask them to work their shift until someone else can get here.’

‘It’s just a few months,’ he offered, ‘what’s the worst that can happen?’

‘I don’t want him here for three months telling me how much he missed me,’ she spat and turned to walk away, ‘I’ll be in my room,’ she added to Rodney more than Jack.

‘Elizabeth wait,’ he called and she stopped she could feel the eyes of the control room staff on her as she waited. ‘I’m not giving you a choice anymore. Simon Wallace is here to take over for Doctor Biro until she returns, is that clear?’

‘You’re turning this into an order?’ She asked without turning around.

‘I didn’t want to; I had hoped you’d be a little more reasonable.’

She turned to look at him, his face showed concern as well as the honesty of what he had said. She knew she was being unreasonable, but still she couldn’t fight the anger that built whenever Simon was mentioned.

‘Perfectly clear, Sir,’ she said spitting the word “sir” as if it burned her mouth. She turned and vanished down the stairs and out of sight of those in the control room.

~~**~~

He snagged her as soon as she stepped into the room, wrapped his arms around her and hoisted her off the floor. He carried her through the door to their bedroom and lay her carefully down.

He didn’t pick up on the fact that she didn’t protest or say anything to him until he had removed her boots and started unbuttoning her pants. He stopped before pulling the zipper down and looked up at her.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘My day keeps getting worse!’

‘I can’t make it better,’ he said childishly and pulled the zipper down on her pants and placed a kiss on her lower stomach.

‘I just want to shower and find my will to work.’

‘Showering sounds good to me,’ he said tucking his fingers under her pants and underwear and pulling them down over her hips and off.

He couldn’t resist the kiss on her stomach as he moved up and unzipped her jacket and began to ease it off. Once she was naked, he climbed from the bed and headed to the bathroom.

He switched on the shower and headed back to the room, before he had reached the bed he managed to strip off his own clothes. Her eyes were closed and Ronon took in the fact that she hadn’t moved a single muscle.

‘Shower’s waiting beautiful,’ he said running his fingers up her arm. She moaned without moving, it was perfect, so far this moment was going to plan.

He leaned down and scooped her up, pulling her naked form close to his own. She rested her head on his shoulder and kissed his neck as he carried her through the door and stepped into the warm water of the shower.

He lowered her to the ground and made sure she had a steady stance before he released her and picked up the soap. He carefully washed her, head to toe, paying special attention to her stomach, he couldn’t really believe it yet; she was pregnant.

Ronon knew it wouldn’t really sink in until he could see her stomach raised and rounded with its growth; he couldn’t wait for that day. This in mind, he reached out and pulled Elizabeth back against him so he could place both his hands flat on her belly.

‘When will it start to show?’ he asked delicately as he started to massage her skin with his fingers.

‘Two, maybe three months, we guessed that the conception date was the day you asked me to marry you.’

‘Really?’ he asked a little disbelievingly. She nodded taking his hands in hers.

‘All we have to do now is tell people and get married.’

‘Easy,’ Ronon said drawing a giggle from her and feeling it reverberate under his digits. He could have stayed here all day, letting the water wash over them, but Elizabeth shuddered and he knew it was time to get out.

He helped her from the shower and dried her off carefully, again taking extra care of her stomach. He had just wrapped the towel around her when someone knocked at the door.

‘I’ll go,’ she said handing Ronon another towel and leaving the bathroom.

Ronon listened as she called out for them to wait and knew she would dress quickly before answering it. Her voice was muffled through the door and it worried him when she stepped in a few minutes later, told him she was heading to get dinner and she’d bring it back.

He didn’t get the chance to protest before she turned and vanished.

~~**~~

‘There’s something different about you,’ Jack said as he followed her down the corridor. He knew instantly that she wasn’t pleased that he’d managed to find her, not to mention that since his arrival, in her eyes, he’d been associated as the one who brought back her horrible past.

‘Is there?’

‘Look, I wouldn’t have brought him along if I had another choice, you need to have a third doctor in the city and there was no one else available.’

‘And if Louise doesn’t want to come back?’ Elizabeth asked. This morning she had been in the room when Louise Biro had been told of her sister’s death, the woman had left two children who currently had nowhere to stay. ‘She could decide to stay on Earth and look after her sister’s kids, what then?’

‘Then I’ll find you a permanent replacement, you’ll just have Simon here until I find one,’ he stopped her and turned her to face him. ‘What’s the real problem?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘You’ve been more moody in the last 24 hours than I’ve seen you up against the IOA,’ he paused seeming to put two and two together to make three. ‘Are you pregnant?’

‘Yes,’ she spat, ‘I’m carrying the alien’s baby.’

She turned and walked away from him, leaving him with his head hung low in a small amount of shame. He hadn’t meant it like that, he’d never referred to Teal’c as an alien and he didn’t intend to refer to Ronon or Teyla that way either.

‘I didn’t mean it like that,’ he called quickly. ‘I just meant there were no rules against anyone having a relationship with someone from another planet. It just came out wrong.’

He watched her, knowing that her emotions were running on high. It was obvious that she hadn’t completely adjusted to the fact that there was life growing in her stomach and it was making her moods a little harder to keep in check.

‘I don’t hate him,’ she said calmly, ‘I don’t love him anymore either, but I don’t hate him. I’m afraid of how Ronon will react around him.’

‘Does Ronon know about Simon?’

‘Yes,’ she gave a short laugh, ‘you should have seen the murderous look in his eyes when I said he was here,’ she turned back to face him. ‘I also don’t think I could deal with him telling me how much he misses me, or how he still loves me. He tried that once before.’

‘Just tell him about Ronon,’ Jack offered. ‘Now, let’s get some food in you, you’re eating for two.’

‘I hate that saying,’ she muttered as Jack fell into step beside her and they continued towards the mess hall.

‘This new room of yours,’ he asked before they reached the mess, ‘is Ronon living there too?’

‘Yeah,’ she admitted with a small smile, ‘but no one else knows that, except John.’

‘Who knows about you two?’

‘Actually knows, John, Teyla, Carson and probably Rodney,’ she offered as they stepped into the room and moved to the food table. ‘I would guess that everyone else has a suspicion by now.’

‘Probably Rodney?’

‘He found us on the balcony out there when I told Ronon about the baby.’

‘Ahh,’ he said with a grin, ‘that’ll do it.’

‘Elizabeth?’

Jack turned around with her to face Simon. He knew this conversation would be uncomfortable so he turned quickly back and picked up a tray to start making his way down the hot food line.

‘You look well,’ he said uncomfortably when Elizabeth didn’t start the conversation. Jack stole a glance and saw him shift under her stare.

‘I err,’ he seemed at a loss for how to act around her now and considering his welcome, Jack couldn’t blame him. ‘I don’t want to cause any problems here, I just wanted to help.’

Still Elizabeth didn’t say anything; he guessed that all she had were words of warning or anger. Somehow this was better, but must have seemed much worse to the doctor.

Movement caught Jack’s attention and he turned back to them to see Simon guiding her away from the bulk of the crowd. Whatever it was Simon said next, Jack didn’t know, he was just out of earshot of the man, but Elizabeth on the other hand, didn’t bother to keep her voice down.

‘I don’t,’ she said clearly, ‘and I don’t want to hear that for the next few months.’

Elizabeth turned to walk away, but Simon caught her arm and pulled her back.

‘Elizabeth, please, I love you and I want to try again.’

‘You’re too late,’ she said and once again tried to walk away but he stopped her. Jack put his tray down, he didn’t know if it would be better to stop him now or stop her after she hit him in a few minutes.

‘I don’t believe that, I can’t believe you don’t have any feelings for me now.’

Elizabeth’s hand came out quickly and she struck him sharply across the face. The crowd around him, who had been ignoring the conversation, now stopped to watch what was going on. Over Simon’s shoulder, Jack caught sight of Ronon entering the room.

‘I stopped loving you shortly after you told me you’d been sleeping with someone else while I was here,’ she spat clearly and Simon looked around the room in embarrassment. ‘I don’t love you anymore, I don’t care for you at all, I love him,’ she pointed over his shoulder at Ronon, ‘I love him, I’ll marry him and just so you don’t get any ideas; I’m already carrying his baby.’

Jack knew his eyebrow wasn’t the only one that went up as Elizabeth walked away and vanished past Ronon and out of the room. Simon had turned to follow her but stopped, Ronon was smirking at him, a sardonic and menacing look on his face in warning before he turned and followed her from the room.

A muttering broke out and Jack caught sight of John and Teyla moving through the crowd towards the door.

‘Sheppard,’ Jack called to stop him, ‘don’t follow just yet,’ he said moving closer to the pair.

‘Sir?’

‘Give her a minute to calm down,’ he said looking around. ‘Why don’t you two get them some dinner and take it to them, that’ll give you a reason to follow too.’

‘Yes sir,’ he said and nodded to Teyla before joining the queue.


	9. Chapter 9

‘Have you ever had sex with a pregnant woman?’

Ronon asked no one in particular and John found himself caught between disgust at the random question and hysterics as Rodney almost choked on his mouthful of food.

‘Can’t say that I have,’ Lorne said simply raising an eyebrow and taking a bite of his dinner. ‘I hear it’s better, that the woman is more sensitive.’

‘This is extremely inappropriate,’ Radek voiced patting Rodney on the back, ‘considering there is only one pregnant woman in the city,’ he added and John watched him look away with a blush on his face.

‘Why did you have to ask that now?’ John questioned watching Rodney take a gulp of his water.

‘It’s easier to ask a group at the same time than individually. I was just wondering if people on your world did that sort of thing,’ Ronon shrugged off his answer and shoved his fork through his meal before raising it to his lips. ‘Thought maybe the reason she won’t, is because it’s not done on Earth.’

‘This is definitely an uncomfortable conversation,’ Rodney said through a rough throat.

‘My sister was ill for the first few months of hers,’ Radek said waving his fork around knowingly, ‘she spent most of the time in bed sipping water and eating dry crackers because they were all she could eat without getting sick.’

‘Most women feel a little ill to start with,’ Lorne offered, ‘I would imagine that her body has to adjust to supporting two people instead of one. It’ll pass.’

‘Can we stop talking about Elizabeth like...’ Rodney swallowed, ‘like... this,’ he said unable to either think of something or simply say it.

‘You must have noticed something,’ John asked ignoring Rodney completely, ‘morning sickness, tiredness, nausea, that sort of thing?’

‘Only the tiredness, she just wants to sleep all the time, she’s even spent less time in her office lately.’

John had to admit that was true, it seemed lately that whenever he went looking for her, she was never around. Not to mention when she was there she looked ready to pass out. He’d stepped in last week to find her resting her head in her arms on the desk; it had looked like she was asleep at the desk.

‘Does she eat enough?’ Radek asked shifting in his seat.

‘Breakfast and dinner,’ he answered, ‘although she never finishes either. I don’t know about lunch,’ he said indicating his own lunch, ‘she always tells me she’ll eat later when I offer to bring her something.’

‘First trimester is always the worst,’ Evan put in nonchalantly.

‘Trimester?’ Ronon questioned.

‘You seem to know a lot about pregnancy, Major,’ John said knitting his eyebrows together and eyeing the man curiously.

‘My cousin’s boyfriend kicked her out when she got pregnant, she lived with me for two years,’ he said then turned to Ronon, ‘it lasts about nine months, so some weird doctor at some time in history broke it down into three sections.’

‘Probably more manageable periods a woman could adjust to,’ Radek voiced.

‘First trimester is morning sickness, nausea, tiredness all that,’ he said waving towards John to indicate what he’d said earlier. ‘Second is the complete opposite if I remember correctly.’

‘I seriously don’t want to listen to this,’ Rodney complained dropping his fork onto the plate.

‘She went from tired to over active, nauseas to feeling on top of the world and put off by everything to wanting it all; including sex. She’ll probably be hornier than anyone you’ve ever met.’

‘Thank you.’

‘Third trimester is back pains, everything gets swollen. I remember my cousin complaining constantly that she couldn’t get her shoes on. Most of that was because she couldn’t reach her feet though.’

John had been watching Ronon the whole time and could pin point the moment when he realised all he was going to do was make her uncomfortable. It was clearly written on his face that he wasn’t looking forward to the last trimester.

Silence fell over the group and after a few minutes Rodney picked up his fork and continued to eat. John continued to watch Ronon who now had his head down and had abandoned his food, he couldn’t imagine this conversation scaring him off, but it looked like something had gotten to him.

Lorne had gone back to eating as well and Radek looked around the room uncomfortably searching for something else to talk about. 

It was a shock when Ronon broke the silence and John could have snorted into his water at what he said and Rodney’s reaction.

‘More sensitive?’

Rodney spat his mouthful of food out across the table at Lorne and got up quickly, he was out of the room before anyone in the hall had worked out what had happened. He left behind Evan who quickly pushed his destroyed meal away and Radek who had found the whole thing hilarious.

John looked back at Ronon who turned to give him a raised brow look that matched John’s “not possible” response to the question. Although, he had to admit it was something he wanted to find out.

~~**~~

He stepped into the room and quietly crossed the sitting area and stepped out onto the balcony. The sun beat down its midday rays and Ronon was only thankful that Elizabeth wasn’t sitting out here.

He turned left and moved along the open aired setting to the next door, it was open as if the last person to pass through it had been too lazy to close it behind them.

Passing into the room he found this theory to be true. Elizabeth was stretched out on her back across the bed, her head turned away from him and the door where sunlight invaded the room. One hand was resting across her stomach and the other tucked behind her head.

She was beautiful, he couldn’t deny it, she was beautiful the day he met her and she was just as beautiful now. Although he had to admit, he expected that to change once she started to show that she was pregnant.

He wondered how they were going to marry, he didn’t know what the customs were on Earth and he wondered if she’d ever agree to going through a traditional Satedan marriage.

They hadn’t talked about how, when or even where yet. Things had taken a completely different turn when she had told him about the baby. Not to mention a few other events such as the arrival of her previous lover and her sudden blurt out that they were together.

‘Thought you had training,’ she said jolting him out of his thoughts.

‘Lorne’s doing it,’ he said moving to the bed and sitting down next to her. ‘Are you sick?’

‘Just tired,’ she offered not picking up on his real meaning.

‘I mean in the mornings,’ he said, ‘Lorne and Sheppard said something about morning sickness. You’re always up before more.’

‘I’ve been fine, just tired and a little dizzy,’ she said finally turning her head to look at him. ‘I’m not tired now though,’ she added reaching out to run her hand down his side. ‘What’s really bothering you?’

Ronon turned, shifting himself to lie down alongside her. He kept himself raised up slightly so that he could look down at her face. He studied her for a moment, her eyes alive as they always were first thing in the morning. He knew she was watching him, determining if the answer he was about to give was the truth.

‘I miss seeing you,’ he said simply, ‘all of you. I want to know... to see if the baby is showing, but you’ve stopped me each time.’

‘I just didn’t want it to end up as something more. I haven’t exactly felt good for the last two months.’

‘And now?’

‘I think it’s time you and my body got reacquainted,’ she said with a naughty smile.

Ronon smiled at her, as she ran her fingers down the side of his face. He reached out with his own hand and trailed a similar line down her face and neck towards the collar of her shirt. He was about to run his hand down over her chest towards her stomach when the door chime interrupted them. Slightly frustrated, Ronon stole a quick kiss and made his way to the door.

‘Hey,’ John said seemingly unfazed by the glare Ronon was giving him. ‘There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you and Elizabeth about the baby.’

Ronon stepped aside and let him into the room before heading back to the bedroom and his love. He didn’t care if John followed or not, all he wanted to do was see her body.

He was thankful that she hadn’t moved when he stepped back in and he wasted no time in dropping back onto the bed and kissing her.

‘What’s your question?’ he asked not turning away from Elizabeth and returning his hand to the collar of her shirt.

He heard John swallow behind him and watched Elizabeth as she propped herself up to look at him. He continued to make no effort to listen to John and instead moving his hand down to cup her left breast.

‘I... er,’ he cleared his throat and Ronon watched him shift from the corner of his eye.

‘I’m three months along John,’ Elizabeth said turning away from John to press her nose against his, ‘it’s not your baby.’

Ronon caught sight of him physically relaxing. He paid no attention to it as he wrapped his lips around Elizabeth’s right nipple and trailed his hand down her side from the left.

She moaned and dropped back as his fingers brushed bare skin under her top. He knew John hadn’t moved, so he made a show of slowly lifting the shirt up and dragging it over her head and off over her arms.

Elizabeth’s arms came up around his neck as his lips met her throat and she moaned as he trailed down towards her cleavage.

‘You gonna help, Sheppard?’ he asked lazily as he unclipped the latch on the front of her bra and kissed at her breast bone. He worked lazily up the middle, taking his time to tease all the spots he knew she liked before he started to work up towards one of her erect nipples.

Before he could reach the peak a soft thud drew his attention away and he turned to see what had caused the interruption. John was kneeling on the end of the bed, one knee slightly ahead of the other and Elizabeth’s foot propped up on his thigh while he undid her boot. The boot from the other foot was discarded on the floor near the bathroom door where it had landed. 

Ronon quickly engulfs the nipple he had been working towards as he watches John remove the other boot, he wants to touch her whole body right this second and with the slow pace John is working... it seems to be never ending.

The boot drops to the ground and Ronon quickly switches to the other nipple pulling it into his mouth harder than he anticipated. Elizabeth groans and he pulls back to look at her unsure if the groan was in pleasure or pain.

Her face is turned away from him, her eyes closed and the relaxation on her face gives him the answer. Pleasure.

He pushes off the bed practically shoving John to the side and reaches down to take Elizabeth’s hands. He stands her at the end and looks down over her body. Desire floods him, he wants to take her now, take her hard. But at the same time, he wants to go slow, re-explore her body; learn what has changed between the night of their engagement and now, three months later and three months pregnant.

He slips a hand across the top of her stomach just below her breasts and watches out of the corner of his eye as John tentatively takes a step towards them.

~~**~~ 

John watched standing to one side as Ronon slipped his hand across her body. He was like a boy who had just got a new attachment to his toy; he was meticulously learning how it went together and worked.

He started to wonder if he should even be here, this was their first time since they knew about the baby and it should be something special for him. He took a careful step forward, it had, after all, been four months since he’d got any form of female contact and the comment about her now being more sensitive was playing on his mind.

Daringly, and thinking that if they decided against him being there they would have said, John stepped forward and quickly flicked the button on Elizabeth’s pants open.

He dragged the zipper down and his knuckles accidentally brushed Ronon’s as his own hand quickly came to explore the newly exposed flesh. John shifted, moving to kneel down in front of her and started easing the material down over her hips leaving her in nothing but a very small pair of side tie panties.

He couldn’t resist it, couldn’t stop himself from drifting his fingers down her hips to her knees. She shifted, separating her legs a little so he could drift his way back up, but he didn’t. John lingered at her knees, teasing over the caps for a moment before turning his attention to the back of her knees.

He ran his fingers down her calves placing pressure along the back of her ankles before he returned to her knees.

A small moan left her mouth and John looked up. Ronon had returned to her nipples sucking liberally on them with his hand resting on her lower stomach in his view. From what he could see, Elizabeth only had one hand in his hair, twisting in his locks, it took him a moment to realise where the other one was.

He turned his attention back, not really wanting to watch her massaging his length this close. Instead, he leaned in close and placed a kiss on her thigh just below her underwear.

He knew Ronon moved, but didn’t bother to turn away from the delicate and soft flesh he was working his way down. Until, of course, the flesh moved away.

~~**~~ 

Ronon sat down on the end of the bed pulling Elizabeth down with him. He settled her carefully in his lap before tucking his hands under her knees and pulled her legs apart to drop on either side of his.

Turning his head he kissed at her neck and pulled back so she could turn to face him and kiss him passionately. He trailed his hands up her legs to her panties and hooked a finger inside on either side; he gave a short tug at them but they didn’t shift.

He adjusted his hands as he moved back down to her neck and shoulder and managed to find the ends of the strings and gave them a tug. The material pulled away and panties slipped down her hips.

Ronon opened his eyes to look down her body and watched as John eagerly reached out and pulled them away from her body to drop them on the floor.

He couldn’t help the moan that escaped him; the desire he’d managed to push away flooded him again and he sunk his teeth down against her shoulder bone with a growl. He trailed his fingers across her stomach and dropped them quickly down to the curls at the apex of her sex.

Ahead of him, John licked his lips in anticipation.

Ronon moved his hand down lower and felt the gasp of air that Elizabeth dragged with shuddering slowness into her chest. He made contact with her sex, slipping easily between her lips and causing her to let out one long low groan of pleasure. He massaged her, circling slowly from her entrance up to her clit eliciting sounds from her throat he hadn’t managed to coax before.

He pulled away and brought his hand up to taste her. It was a moment before something changed, Elizabeth shifted in his lap, her body writhing around as if someone were still teasing her.

She moaned loudly, and pulled her hips away from him and Ronon looked down to see John. Her fingers locked in his hair pulling him closer as he lapped at her snatch. He watched her fingers flex in his hair, clasping at his strands as she began to pant and her thighs began to shudder.

John pulled back and Ronon could only guess the look he would receive for stopping when she was so close. Taking a quick swipe at his fingers Ronon returned his hand to her sex and dipped two fingers as deep inside her as he could reach. She twitched and her muscles clenched on his intruding fingers.

‘Does that feel good?’ he whispered watching as John flattened his hand out across her stomach. Elizabeth groaned deep in her throat and he felt her tighten her muscles on his fingers. ‘I know what you want,’ he continued, ‘do you know what I want?’ he asked watching her shift towards John’s slowly creeping hand. ‘I want to watch you come.’

John picked that moment to wipe his thumb across her clit, it had the desired effect. Elizabeth’s hand shot from their resting place on her thighs. One vanished back into John’s hair pulling him close and creating a contact between him and Ronon. The other hand gripped his wrist, stopping him from pulling out of her as she attempted to push him deeper.

Ronon pushed up, pulling Elizabeth into a standing position and shifting his hand from inside her to rest on her belly. It was a slight disappointment this time as he ran his hand over her still flat stomach.

He had to keep a tight hold on her as he moved, keeping her from collapsing to the ground in a pile of pleasurable goo. He moved away from the bed and turned to glare at John as he walked her towards the nearest wall.

He leaned her against it and she pushed back creating a firm contact between her backside and his front. Hastily he pulled of his shirt and dropped it to the side noting momentarily that John was departing from his clothes just as quickly.

He had to give her a short swipe on her backside to stop her pushing against him long enough for him to remove his pants. He had to be quick as she moaned, pulled forward, corrected her stance and then pushed back towards him.

‘Ronon,’ she moaned feeling his flesh against her already bare backside. The pleading tone in her voice was enough to make him come on the spot; he shuddered and growled low in his throat before slapping her other cheek to create the same response.

As he had hoped, she repeated the whole process and began rubbing herself against him. He was engrossed in watching her ass move against him for a moment before it became too much. He seized her hips ground hard against her once before he positioned himself and thrust into her in a long and slow motion.

His eyes slid shut and he let out a long moaned sigh, it was bliss to be here, it felt like such a long time since he’d felt this relaxed and so in love with Elizabeth, he never wanted to leave, never wanted to stop touching her.

Her back curved into his hand as he ran course fingers up her spin, her hips shifted and Ronon slid deeper into her. When he realised she had straightened up, he reached around and gave her breasts a little squeeze only to brush his knuckles against something soft instead of the hard Atlantis wall.

Elizabeth began to thrust on him as he opened his eyes and found that John had moved himself in between the wall and his mate. Her arms were hooked over his shoulders and he was kissing at her neck. 

Elizabeth tightened on him and shifted forcing Ronon to take a step forward; he suspected John was teasing her, playing with her clit like he usually did. He ran his hand down over her sides and took a firm hold of her hips so he could take over thrusting, as he reached her hips, Elizabeth reached back and wrapped her arms around his neck.

He leaned forward wrapping his arms around her and thrusting hard and deep into her, he leaned down to kiss her shoulder and watch John thumb her sex lips. Instead of finding John’s fingers though, John was massaging himself, taking long strokes up and down his length and brushing the tip of his cock against her sex as he moved.

John flicked over a particularly sensitive spot and Elizabeth grunted and squeezed her muscles around his length. Elizabeth began to thrust again, rocking between him and John. Ronon stilled his movements letting her control the speed and strength. He closed his eyes, losing himself in her movements and taking in how she groaned with each thrust against him and twitched as she pulled away from him and rubbed against John.

John was panting just as heavily as she was and it wasn’t long before John lost control. Ronon knew by the noises he made that John had come, he leaned in against her as he calmed down and Ronon opened his eyes to watch as John flicked his tongue over just the right spot on her shoulder.

Elizabeth screamed out as she came, clamping down on his length as she dragged herself over him. Ronon held out as long as he could, but it seemed Elizabeth wouldn’t stop until he gave in.

Desire once again took over him and he forced himself deep into her before letting go, he was amazed as Elizabeth’s groans started anew and her abating muscle flexes started again as she came for the third time.

~~**~~**~~

She collapsed, her legs giving out from beneath her, John was lucky, he saw the look in her eye as she relaxed, watched as the fatigue conquered her body and she passed out. He reached out and wrapped his arms around her body, stopping her from hitting the ground.

Ronon reacted seconds later, swept her up and carrying her across the room to lay her carefully down. John watched them, wishing once again that he could be a part of something like this, even wishing that he could be in Ronon’s place, engaged to an extremely beautiful woman with an extraordinary body.

He had to remind himself as he followed them over to the bed that he was a part of it, he had given up his grandmother’s ring to help them. He knew there was no way to separate himself from the small part he now played in their life.

‘Want me to call Carson?’ He offered watching Ronon as he checked Elizabeth over.

‘No,’ he said, ‘she’s asleep,’ he offered bluntly knowing only too well that she had given him that because he had waited so patiently. ‘She’s just tired all the time, like I said at lunch.’

‘Yeah,’ he said, ‘maybe I should go,’ he offered sheepishly before turning and picking up his clothes. He pulled his boxers and pants on quickly and started to turn his t-shirt back in the right way when he was stopped.

‘She was definitely more sensitive.’

‘Huh?’ John said confused about the statement. ‘Oh, I wouldn’t know,’ he said with a grin.

‘Wanna keep me company,’ Ronon said as he pulled the covers up over Elizabeth, ‘she’s gonna be out for a while.’

John chuckled and moved towards the sofa in the next room. He had always hated leaving after being with them, it had never seemed right to stay, but being invited to stick around was a bonus.

‘Sure,’ he said before dropping down into the seat, ‘so long as later on you don’t tell me all the disgusting things that happen during pregnancy.’

‘Deal.’


	10. Chapter 10

'What exactly am I doing here?' Jack asked following Elizabeth and Teyla through the crowded village towards the Satedan camp.

'I want this to be perfect, General and we need to learn everything we can,' Elizabeth told him turning with Teyla down a small and very crowded alleyway. She couldn't say she really wanted to be there, she was tired and thirsty but when they had finally talked about when they would get married, they had both agreed that it had to be done before the baby was born.

Then she had refused to be a blimp for it.

'The camp is not far, there should be plenty of people who could guide us through the ceremony,' Teyla added glancing in her direction. Ronon didn't know they were here, he was told she was going to one of the allied words to renegotiate.

It had been a difficult task to get him to stay behind, one which had ended with John assigning two SG teams to follow them. For which she had told all but Lorne they could do what they wanted while they were here.

'So you're having a completely Satedan wedding?'

'No,' she said stepping out of the crowd and stopping to catch her breath, 'not completely, we're starting with our own vows.'

'Ahh,' Jack said with an amused smile, 'that little touch of Earth is a must.'

'Hey, it wasn't my idea.'

'Excuse me,' Teyla said stopping a teenage girl who was passing them, 'we are looking for Solen.'

'Over by the fire,' she said confidently, 'in the middle of the camp.'

'You mean he suggested it?'

'Thank you,' Teyla said and led the way into the camp and towards the glow of a fire.

'I suspect John had something to do with it,' Elizabeth said knowingly before placing a hand on her right hip and starting a small massage as she walked. She couldn't believe how uncomfortable and ill she felt, it was a silent prayer whenever she had the moment that the whole experience wouldn't be this way.

Dizziness, nausea, morning sickness that wouldn't go away and that reoccurred into evening sickness; she felt rotten, but she had been determined to let him touch her a few weeks ago and now she was determined she would marry him.

A few paces ahead, Teyla met with yet another tall Satedan man and received a massive hug. Before Elizabeth and Jack reached them, she had evidently explained why they were here and Solen took a moment to examine Elizabeth from head to toe before raising an eyebrow and speaking.

'You don't seem like Ronon's type,' he said suspiciously.

'Most people say he doesn't seem like my type,' she said with a smile, 'I guess that's what makes up better than most couples.'

Solen gave a loud laugh at her comment and moved in to hug her. Jack had to rescue her from under his bulk, which he did with a lewd comment and waggling eyebrows.

'So what do you want to know?' Solen offered indicating a bench off to the side and out of ear shot to the others around the fire.

'Everything you could tell us,' she said sinking down into the chair with a sigh.

'Right, then the worst thing first,' he said giving her another suspicious look. 'Two days before the marriage, you need to separate, no contact, not even a glance in his direction. Along with this, you need to fast, no food or drink other than water for the whole 54 hours.'

'That could be a problem,' Jack said getting comfortable on another bench that took a right angle to hers.

'Why?'

'Elizabeth is already pregnant,' Teyla put in.

'Ah, well we have a way around that; it's not uncommon for the woman to be with child to start with, even with arranged marriages. You can eat first thing, before the sun rises, this should be a meal to last the day, and then a very small meal in the evening after the sun has passed below the horizon.'

'Maybe a chocolate bar,' Jack said with a smirk.

'No rich food is to be eaten,' Solen said putting a dampener on the idea, 'only bland items should be consumed, the whole point is to cleanse the soul.'

'Well the thought was nice while it lasted,' she joked and got comfortable.

~~**~~

‘Right,’ John said dropping down into the chair in Elizabeth’s office, ‘the best way to start is by describing her. So describe Elizabeth.’

‘Beautiful,’ Ronon said fiddling with one of the ornaments from the desk. He switched it for another while he waited for the next part of the description.

‘Okay,’ John said after a moment, drawing the word out, ‘you need to describe her more. Name all the things you love about her.’

‘She’s stubborn,’ he said, ‘beautiful, strong minded. Has one hell of a sexy body, tight pussy, you should agree with that one.’

‘Not something you should say in front of people though.’

‘Tell me something,’ Ronon said sitting forward and putting the ornament back in place, ‘why in Earth marriages does a man give a woman away?’

‘It’s traditional for the father of the bride to walk her down the aisle to her husband to be. He is usually standing with his best man and the priest.’

‘You have priests at your ceremonies?’

‘Yeah,’ John said looking confused, ‘they marry them in the eyes of their god, you don’t?’

‘No, priests are for funerals.’

‘So what do you do instead?’

‘We have witnesses, two for me, two for Elizabeth; usually her father and sister, and my father and brother.’

‘What if you don’t have a father or sister or brother?’

‘Uncles, brothers, close friends,’ he said picking up the silver watch, ‘I think that’s what O’Neill is here for, he’s gonna stand in where her father normally would, Teyla where her sister would be.’

‘What about you?’

‘I don’t know yet, you where my brother should be, I guess.’

‘Me?’ He watched Ronon nod. ‘What do I have to do?’

‘Not much,’ Ronon shrugged.

‘Helpful.’

Silence fell between them and John took the opportunity to look out into the control room. Everything seemed calm and John was somehow thankful and annoyed by it, he wanted some distraction from helping Ronon write personal wedding vows. The very last thing he needed was to tell Ronon what he thought of Elizabeth.

‘Anyway,’ he said eventually, ‘we’re not getting very far. You can’t exactly say that she’s great in bed and you can’t wait to get this over with so you can...’

‘Why not?’

‘Trust me; Elizabeth would kill you from the embarrassment.’

‘Right,’ he said with a smirk, ‘but it would be fun.’

‘Yes it would be,’ John remarked, ‘but we’re not doing that, because she’d kill me too. So, let’s do this a little differently,’ he said trying to think up another way to phrase the question. ‘When you think of Elizabeth, how does it make you feel?’

‘Wonderful.’

‘I don’t think you’re getting the idea, you’re meant to bare your soul to her, tell her why you love her, why you want to spend the rest of your life with her.’

‘I’m not good with words.’

‘Yeah, I got that. How about something like this,’ he leaned back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling. ‘You are a woman of refined grace and regal beauty. When you enter a room, the breath leaves my lungs and I am captivated by your mere presence.’

He felt the smile on his face, the idea of her hearing those words, the blush she would display and the bright smile that would make her eyes shine were very appealing.

‘You sound like you’re in love with her,’ Ronon said giving him a raised eyebrow. ‘Are you?’

John froze, his mind ran on overload, how could he explain that the heart-felt words he just used for Elizabeth were what he had long ago tried to say to her. He swallowed, feeling a lump push at the back of his throat before he looked away from the ceiling his eyes darted quickly around the office.

‘I was just pretending to be you, I mean, I’ve seen you two together more than once, and in more ways than I’d care to admit. Besides, would it matter if I were? She’s in love with you.’

‘Good point.’

~~**~~

She could feel his eyes on her as she stopped; she had to flatten a hand out on the wall to stop herself from collapsing to the ground. She didn’t dare look at Jack who had for some reason stopped walking with the others.

‘Let me ask you something,’ he said as she stretched her back to make it look like she had stopped because she was uncomfortable not dizzy. ‘Why exactly am I here?’

‘What do you mean?’ she asked as her back gave a protesting pang of pain.

‘These people don’t have someone conducting their weddings, Elizabeth,’ he stated moving to walk along side her as she pushed off only half confident she could make it back to the gate on both feet. ‘Solen said the father or uncle of each party witnesses the proceedings while another family member helps.’

‘I don’t have a father, or uncle, so I select a close friend. When I asked you to be here,’ she started slowing down to pull further from the group, ‘I intended to ask you to marry us, but since then, I’ve learned what a Satedan wedding is, well some of it anyway.’

‘Today was the crash course in the rest of it I take it.’

‘Yes it was,’ she said wobbling slightly and feeling Jack’s hand around her arm.

‘Are you okay?’

‘Fine, just a little dizzy,’ she said with a brave smile. ‘Fifteen weeks and I can’t shake it.’

‘You been checked out?’ he asked with concern. 

‘I won’t, on Sateda, you don’t get checked until you’re sixteen weeks, it’s said to be bad luck. Unless of course something goes wrong and they have no choice.’

‘You’re not Satedan and fasting for the next two days might not be such a good idea.’

‘The baby is and I get to eat, twice in the day actually,’ she offered as they rounded the corner towards the gate, only a few more steps and she could sit down. Ahead of her Teyla, Solen and a Satedan woman named Denyl stopped and waited while Lorne started to dial.

They had been sitting in the middle of the Satedan village for a good few hours. It had been a shock to Solen when she told him they were marrying in two days. He’d gone into a mad spill about what was involved, clothes, timing, fasting, physical contact, food for the party and the fact that they had to do the ceremony and consummate the marriage in water.

She had laughed at that last revelation, Ronon had picked the location, a beach about a 10 minute walk from the Athosian village, but she had seen that as them standing in the sand, not in the ocean. 

On top of this, the physical contact thing had started to nag at her. For two whole days, which was 54 hours in Atlantis, she couldn’t touch or be touched by anyone, especially Ronon. Not to mention they had to be separated, completely. Ronon would have to live the next two days on the main land, as for the whole two days while they fasted and avoided people, they couldn’t so much as set eyes on each other.

Solen and Denyl had offered to come back and set the whole thing up properly, both of them had been married before the war and knew exactly how it was supposed to go. Denyl would be on the main land only long enough to make sure their clothes were done properly; then she would return to Atlantis to help Elizabeth get ready.

Solen also had the idea that Ronon needed someone to be his witness; he intended to offer himself for this job. Not to mention he wanted to see Ronon, congratulate him, although Elizabeth suspected it wasn’t congratulations on getting married, but on finding someone as luscious and he had taken to calling her “Luscious ‘Lizabeth”.

She stopped in front of the gate and put the timeline of the wedding in her head. Tonight, at sunset, it would all begin; there would be only 54 hours to her wedding. She would have to say goodbye to Ronon so he could go to the main land and she’d start on her bland meals.

Teyla would move into one of the spare rooms in their quarters so she could help Elizabeth where needed and making sure she got at least a few hours sleep each night.

She’d be able to carry on with her work, as best she could while counting down the hours to her wedding and regretting that her mother couldn’t be around for it.

She sighed as she stepped through the gate, that’s the last thing she should have added to her mind of wedding information.

~~**~~

‘Two days,’ Ronon said dropping into the family room sofa and pulling Elizabeth’s feet up into his lap. ‘You can eat all the fruit you like first thing and all evening plus whatever Teyla finds for you.’

‘Fifty-four hours,’ she said, ‘it sounds like a long time; probably because a day on Earth is only twenty-four hours, not twenty-seven.’

‘It’s thirty-one on Sateda.’

‘I’d go crazy if I had to wait sixty-two hours.’

He chuckled, it has been interesting when he had first agreed to join their team; he’d been given a watch and listened as Zelenka had rattled on about it being a special watch because it told Atlantean time instead of Earth time. Teyla had to explain that time was different on Earth compared to Atlantis and that they had created the devices just for the expedition team.

‘Fifty-four hours is looking good right now,’ she said resting her head back against the arm of the chair and wiggling her toes under his hand.

He smiled at her, watching as her complexion changed from the dusting of color he’d been used to seeing over the last few months to ghostly white. He’d been picking up on the times when she felt really bad lately, she had always tried hiding it, telling him she was fine, but he could see now that the baby was taking its toll on her.

It worried him, and he would be happy in five days time when she could go to Beckett and get the baby checked out. There was something in the Satedan history about pregnancy, something he learned about when he was a child that was nipping at the back of his mind. But for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out what it was.

Pushing the thought away he moved his hand from her foot and rested it on her stomach. Through her clothes you couldn’t see that she was pregnant, but it had started to show, her firm stomach had become soft and now raised slightly from its usual position. Ronon loved it, the slight bump of life that was peaking up from her body to show him what he had done.

‘I’ve asked Teyla to keep a pack of those cracker things nearby during the day. If you start to feel sick you can have a bite of one of those to settle your stomach.’

‘I’ll be fine in the day, work is a good distraction,’ she said as he ran a finger along the base of her stomach and then moved his hand to massage her feet. She groaned instead of continuing to talk and her head dropped to the side. ‘It’s the night times I worry about,’ she added with a heavy sigh.

‘If you don’t sleep the first night get something from Beckett for the second, you’ll need your strength on our wedding day,’ he said watching her face. ‘Is it a long walk to the Satedan village?’ 

‘All the way on the other side of the Belkan town from the Stargate, I thought I’d never get there.’

‘Why didn’t you just tell me you were going there?’ he asked moving from her feet to her ankles.

‘And tell you I was worried you weren’t telling me everything I needed to know?’ she said coyly. He dropped his eyes to her ankle knowing only too well she was right, he didn’t know much about getting married. Her feet pulled out of his hands and dropped to the ground, he looked up to find her turning on the sofa. She leaned back, dropping her head into his lap and looking up at him before taking his hand and placing it back on her stomach. ‘I don’t want to talk about anything right now.’

‘You don’t want to talk?’ he said with a quirked brow, ‘that has to be a first.’

‘Hey, give me a break, I’m tired and I’m not going to see you for two days.’

‘Yeah,’ he said with a smile, ‘but remember what will be happening when you do see me.’

‘We’ll be getting married.’

~~**~~

She stepped off the jumper into the bright sun light and looked around the Athosian village. It had been a few months since she’d been here and she had to admit she was impressed with how they had manipulated the Earth equipment into their own way of living.

She followed Teyla through a group of playing children, who stopped to greet her and slowly crowded around to walk with them. She simply nodded at them as they pushed onwards and was thankful when Teyla moved them away. She didn’t feel good right now and she wasn’t sure if her lack of food or nerves were taking the biggest toll on her body.

They stepped into one of the living tents and she looked around as Teyla placed their bags down on the only bed in the room. A full length mirror stood off to one side and beside it, hanging from the top of the tenting was her dress.

She moved forward, reaching out and running her fingers down over the soft cream material. From what she could guess, it would barely cover her thighs and definitely wouldn’t reach her knees.

‘Do you not like the material?’ Teyla asked from behind her.

‘I’m more worried about what it will cover.’

‘No much,’ Denyl said stepping into the tent. ‘You’ll be standing in water up to your knees, the dress isn’t meant to touch the surface, but it’s not a problem if the waves reach it.’

‘So everyone in Atlantis will be able to talk about my legs from now on,’ she said with a smile that echoed across Teyla’s face.

‘That’s not all they are gonna see,’ Denyl said, ‘don’t forget Ronon will be taking that dress off you towards the end.’

‘I was hoping people would be gone by then.’

‘Nope,’ she said, ‘afraid not, but not long after. The rest of the outfit is on the table and I may need to adjust the dress length, it’s currently longer than I think it should be.’

Elizabeth moved over the table and picked up the top item of clothing. The top was small, smaller in her mind that anything she’d seen Teyla wear and would barely cover her chest and support nothing.

The other item was the skirt she had to wear under the dress, it was a slightly different design to the top, which was plain, it dipped down at the corners and a few beads were left sitting on the table that Elizabeth guessed would be attached by the end of the day.

‘I have to adjust that too,’ Denyl said joining her and indicating that she should put the cloth back down. When Elizabeth placed it on the table she picked it up and explained. ‘These parts will dip down below the dress, it will make it easier for Ronon to get hold of the dress and not pull this up and show the crowd everything you really don’t want them to see.’

‘Thank god for that,’ she said smiling at them, ‘last thing I need is that information in the city, all the respect I’ve worked for over the years would be gone in a second.’

‘What of these?’ Teyla asked indicating the beads.

‘Those will be attached to the ends, keeping the material weighed down; it’s rather light and wouldn’t take much to get swept away.’

Silence fell after that and Elizabeth turned back to the dress, it seemed that with the light material that was needed the Satedan’s had thought of, or experienced everything.

She looked up just above the dress where it was hooked on the tent and found a gap. She could see the setting sun through it and sighed; it was only three hours to the start of the ceremony and from the noise outside, the excitement and crowd were growing fast.

~~**~~

‘Is she here?’ Ronon asked, ‘does she know how it’s going to happen? All the details? What she needs to wear? Is she feeling okay?’

‘Ronon,’ John said calmly placing a jug of fresh water down on the table and eyeing the very long shirt and very small piece of underwear he would wear; if you could call the loin cloth underwear.

‘Is someone getting her some food and water? Maybe I should go check on her.’

‘Ronon,’ John said quickly blocking his friend’s way out of the tent. ‘You can’t see Elizabeth for two more hours. Teyla and Denyl are with her right now, I saw Denyl with food and water so she’s fine.’

John watched him as he sighed and relaxed, he’d been fidgeting and asking questions like this since they left Atlantis two days ago. It had now been 53 hours since they had last seen each other and it seemed that the longer they waited, the more frustrated Ronon became.

‘It’s only two more hours buddy, then you’ll be able to see her for yourself.’

‘If she makes a mistake...’

‘She won’t Ronon;’ he said confidently, ‘Denyl has been making sure she’s ready.’

‘But if she makes even the smallest mistake...’

‘I know.’

John had been debating yesterday morning contacting Atlantis and telling Elizabeth the consequences for making a mistake. It wasn’t something dangerous, like Solen suddenly pulling out a knife and slitting her throat, just that any mistake would mean they start again in two days time. Or they don’t get married.

He’d changed his mind, thinking if it was something she really needed to know then Denyl would have told her by now. But he had to admit it was a lot to put on a couple’s shoulders.

‘Do you remember your vows?’ he said hoping to keep him occupied. Ronon whirled around and seized the tablet pc from the bed and dropped down to start reading again. ‘I’m gonna go get our food.’

~~**~~

‘Comfortable?’ Denyl asked looking up at the woman now dressed ready for her wedding. She had to admit the woman was beautiful, but with her hair and make-up done just so... it made her look younger and brighter.

‘Yes,’ Elizabeth answered running her hands down the front of the dress.

‘Good, don’t move a muscle, that physical contact rule is still in place.’

‘I know,’ she smiled and Denyl looked up to see her eyeing a piece of fruit on the table. ‘Teyla gets to be the first to touch me, and only to guide me into the water.’

‘Right,’ she said taking the end of the undergarment and pinning it in place, ‘she’ll only take you by the hand then pass your hand over to...’

‘Jack,’ Teyla put in.

‘Right, then he will place your hand against your heart for you to start.’

‘I think I’m ready.’

‘Think?’ Denyl questioned pausing to look up at her face. ‘If you make a mistake, Elizabeth...’

‘I know, I have all the words in my head, in the right order, I just have to remember in which order the ceremony takes place.’

‘Well that’s not much of a problem. Ronon starts everything for you; remembering what to do next is his problem.’

‘Never thought I’d be pleased to hear that it will be someone else’s problem,’ she said far too lightly.

‘Ok, take these off;’ she said standing and taking a step back from her, ‘you can now eat.’

‘I was just deciding if it was a good idea or not,’ Elizabeth said easing the dress off over her head leaving her in only her bra and underwear. She stepped out of the underskirt and placed them both on the back of a chair before sitting down.

‘It is,’ Teyla said with a smile and a small push of the fruit bowl in her direction. ‘You still have a long night ahead of you.’

‘Of which I still think it’s unfair that I don’t get to go to the party.’

‘Trust me, you won’t want to go,’ Denyl said from her seat on the bed as she watched the playful talk between her new friends. In the two days she had lived on this world she had made many new friends both with the Athosians and Atlanteans. She found it interesting that the two people, who were completely different from each other, could get along so well.

She was seriously considering staying.

For now though, she had to concentrate on what she was doing, she had less than half an hour to sew the dress and skirt, get Elizabeth back into it and get out of the tent to leave Teyla to the final preparations.

~~**~~

She swallowed, wrung her hands, fiddled with her fingers, picked at her nails and took several deep breathes before she closed her eyes and turned her back to the crowd.

At the time, sending the email about the wedding was a great idea. The only rule was that someone was manning each station in case something happened. Now though, the massive gathering of both Atlantis personnel and Athosians was a big mistake.

The Athosian village had been deserted as she walked calmly with Teyla and into the forest to where she stood now, off to one side and out of sight. She could see the entrance to the diagonal tunnel that ran through the crowd of women, and could pick out the divide where the split crowd turned from female to male.

She looked out across the back towards the opposite end where Ronon would in moments be stepping out, walking his path down through the men and taking his place in the water. The time had come and she didn’t honestly know how she could be so excited and alive, yet so tired and ill.

‘Elizabeth,’ Teyla said catching her attention and forcing her to turn from the spot she was desperately watching, ‘you cannot see him until you reach the water’s edge.’

She fixed her eyes on the small woman and couldn’t stop herself from smiling. The time had come and she was very much ready.

A hush fell over the chattering crowd indicating that Ronon had started his path to what Elizabeth suddenly hoped was a warm ocean. She didn’t look away from Teyla, she knew if she did that she would only turn back to try and steal a glance at him.

‘We should take our places.’

‘Wait,’ she said stretching out her hand and stopping herself before she touched Teyla’s arm. She took a deep breath before speaking. ‘I just wanted to say,’ she started taking a short breath and smiling, ‘that whatever I expected to find out here when we came to Atlantis, it wasn’t a friend as caring as you. Over the years you’ve been a great friend, but over the last two days, I think that’s changed,’ she stopped feeling her heart pound as Teyla smiled at her, ‘I just I hope it doesn’t change back.’

‘Elizabeth,’ she said and Elizabeth smiled as emotion took over the woman in front of her, ‘could you have not said this when I could hug you?’

She chuckled, dropped her head and muttered an amused “sorry”.

‘Come, we need to take our place now.’

Elizabeth followed her through the trees to step out on the end of the forest just beside her walkway. A few people at the back turned and she shared a quick smile with Laura Cadman and Lindsey Novak. She had known the Daedalus was on the way, but didn’t think they would arrive in time.

On the corner Denyl stood leaning into the gangway to watch the front where Elizabeth couldn’t see, it was only a moment before she turned and nodded to them.

‘Ready?’ Teyla asked causing Elizabeth to smile again; she couldn’t bring herself to speak though so she nodded. Teyla reached her hand out, placing her palm down and Elizabeth carefully placed her own hand over the top. She took a final deep breath before she closed her eyes.

She shuddered as they started walking, Teyla leading her blind down the walkway towards the ocean and the start of her new life.

A small muttering met her ears as she passed the various people in the crowd, she picked out voices from both Athosians and Expedition members. She had to guess when they came near the water, the dark night sky had already lost its sun and the beach was lit with flamed torches set up by the people who occupied the land.

She felt the water touch at her feet before receding and with the next step her bare foot submerged into the cool wave. Another watered step followed and she took another long deep breath. When Teyla stopped her, knee deep in the water, she had to remind herself not to open her eyes just yet. 

She felt her hand pass from the smooth of Teyla’s hand to the rough of Jack’s before he curled her fingers, brushed his thumb over her knuckles and bent her arm to place her now fisted hand against her chest.

‘You’re time starts now,’ he whispered to her before she heard the water move as he stepped back. 

Another deep breath and Elizabeth opened her eyes finding herself facing her lover. His eyes were closed as she expected, she knew he wouldn’t look at her until she had finished the first speech.

Out of the corner of her eye the crowd was watching, she could see Carson standing at the front with Rodney and to her horror Simon. She didn’t turn from Ronon, couldn’t. She wanted to be with him and that’s what she was going to do. She gathered her thoughts quickly and started.

‘Ronon Dex,’ she stated clearly hearing her voice echo slightly through the microphone attached to her dress. ‘I, Elizabeth Weir, stand before you to request your permission to begin a new and wonderful life at your side. Will you grant me this honour?’

Ronon opened his eyes to look at her a smile gracing his lips as he quickly took in her appearance in front of him.

‘You are a woman of refined grace and regal beauty,’ he said and Elizabeth creased her brow, he was simply to give a yes or no. ‘When we are together, the breath leaves my lungs and I am captivated by your mere presence. When we are apart, the breath leaves my lungs and I am bereft without you.’

She was struggling to tame her emotions; she tried to pull in several breaths to keep from crying. The words he was speaking were beautiful and granted not his usual articulation, but they were taking her breath away so easily.

‘Together, we will be better than we could be alone. Together, we will share our love with the world.’

She flicked her eyes to Solen who was smiling; he didn’t see anything wrong with what he was doing. Nearby though, John held a smirk on his face that told her clearly he had something, if not everything to do with this.

‘Our love may be like the ebb and tide of the ocean, but it will always flow. I take your honour with all my heart; you are the woman I love.’

Silence fell as their gazes locked and Elizabeth watched the slight movement from behind him as John moved around one side. She could hear Teyla moving around in the opposite direction so that they traded places. 

She watched Ronon intently waiting for what she knew would come. Ronon gave a small nod, never breaking eye contact with her, and she slowly closed her eyes.

The water shifted against the backs of her legs and she heard John swallow a few times before her dress lifted slightly from her thighs. He moved carefully, easing the material up her body and letting it lift her arms so he could take it from her completely. She felt him move as he handed the dress to someone else.

When he stepped back into place she moved, lowering herself into the water until her knees hit the sound ground below. Underwater in the cool evening air, she waited as John dipped his hands in the water and dragged a cupped handful of the liquid up and over her right shoulder.

He swallowed again and she felt him shift before again, he poured water down the front of her right shoulder and down over her breasts. She felt her nipples perk at the cool liquid and swallowed against the fear that people would see them through her very thin white top.

She could almost feel the groan John quickly bit back; it didn’t escape, being trapped in his throat only caught by her ear as he continued.

Water was washed down the back of her shoulder before John moved, continuing to try and down the lump in his throat as he repeated the three splashes down her left side. He then took a step back and Elizabeth opened her eyes.

Ronon’s eyes were alight with glee, she knew instantly that her now erect nipples were showing through the top. She fought down the need to run and nodded slowly at him.

This time she got to watch him as he had just watched her. His eyes closed breaking their gaze and Teyla stepped forward and carefully took the very edges of his shirt. She eased it up past his hips and up high on his chest. Ronon had to crouch slightly to help her remove it completely.

As Ronon kneeled in the water, Teyla handed his shirt to John and bent to take two handfuls of water before filling her palms and washing it down Ronon’s left arm. As John had done, she repeated the palms of water before washing down the front and then back of the arm before moving to the other side to start again.

Teyla stepped back, and Ronon’s eyes opened to once again meet hers. His eyes were filled with love and passion and the smile was still on his face from having seen her nipples so early on in the ceremony.

Solen stepped forward, his hands filled with a large round bowl which he lowered between them. She stretched her hands up to take it, cupping only her side of the smoking bowl and avoiding all contact with Ronon.

It suddenly occurred to her why Earth weddings had practice days. She would have very much liked the chance to practice this first, she felt awkward not knowing where she should hold in case his hands were there too. But the thought flew from her mind as the lid was lifted from the bowl and the heady scent rushed up her nostrils.

She saw Ronon’s eyes close and let hers drift shut. One minute’s meditation with this scent was going to be torturous, although she had to wonder if the sensation flowing through her body and flushing her cheeks was any harder to take in for Ronon.

Without meaning to, she imagined him getting hard in his loin cloth under the water and instantly felt her body’s reaction to it. The heat in her face rose even more and her nipples tightened in anticipation.

She sucked her lower lip into her mouth and waited, praying silently that this minute was almost up. She was supposed to be clearing her mind, banishing any thoughts that might interfere with her new life, but that was more or less impossible.

The bowl was lifted and Elizabeth slowly moved forward on her knees just one pace as Ronon did the same. They were so close now, she was sure if she pulled in a deep breath she would feel his chest against her tight buds.

She resisted, knowing that the contact between them had to be guided, and she found herself impatient for John’s hand on her skin to guide the touch.

When it did come she almost jumped, his hands were ice cold as he took hold of her left wrist and pulled it from the water. He stretched it out ahead of her and she felt Ronon’s skin under her palm. His shoulder muscle flexed under her fingers and a moment later she felt his fingers wrap around her side just below the small top she had left to cover her modesty.

Elizabeth opened her eyes a little quicker than she had intended to do so, but found Ronon had already beaten her to the task.

Teyla and John moved into the middle between them and the two men standing watching and joined the couple on their knees. Teyla produced a red strip of material from the back of her skirt and John pulled a deep blue one from the back of his pants.

‘Together,’ Solen stated loudly more to the crowd than to the couple, ‘following the new path on the horizon,’ Elizabeth slipped her hand down Ronon’s arm as he pulled his up to hers and down to her elbow. ‘These two will be joined.’ 

Teyla draped her cloth over their arms and took hold of both ends underneath. John quickly followed, dropping his over the top and taking hold of the ends so their arms were crossed below their joining and the material cross above.

‘We tie them on the side of their beginning,’ both of them pulled the material turning it from the bottom of their arms to the top and together in what must have been a practiced move, they tied their ends together in a neat knot. They stood together and moved back to their original places, Teyla behind Elizabeth and John behind Ronon.

‘Binding them together so that they can stand for the first time joined in their love.’

Elizabeth placed her left foot firmly on the ground as Ronon did the same with the opposite and together they lifted from the water. The cold night air chilled her skin and she watched Ronon as his eyes dropped to the small rise of her stomach.

They stood together for a moment, Ronon examining her and her keeping a watch on his face as he appreciated the sight she presented before Solen spoke the final words.

‘You’re time together has begun.’

Ronon moved forward as best he could with their arms joined and kissed her with more passion than she’d ever experienced. The watching crowd burst into cheers and applause as Jack untied the careful knot and left the material hanging over their arms.

They broke the kiss and turned to smile at their friends, the four trusted friends who had helped them marry. Elizabeth watched Jack mouth a silent “thank you” before he followed Teyla back to the dry sand.

As they moved away Elizabeth heard Jack whisper, “get to close to the Satedan Viagra, Sheppard?” and turned to smirk at Ronon knowingly.

They moved their eyes to the gathered crowd, their hands still clutching to their partner’s arm as they watched the crowd move away. Carson winked at Elizabeth and she broke into a grin as she turned back to lock eyes with her new husband.

The sound of music reached their ears indicating the last of the crowd had reached the village. They moved in together drinking in another passionate kiss before Ronon pulled away with a slight growl and took hold of the end of the red ribbon.

Elizabeth copied him, taking hold of the blue one and they removed them together separated their arms and walked further into the water. Elizabeth stopped when the water reached her breasts and they placed the material at arm’s length into the water.

‘I’ve waited too long,’ he said suddenly wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close, ‘I don’t like waiting,’ he added thrusting his hips against her. She hissed at the stiffness of his erection as it ground her skirt to her bare sex.

‘Then stop waiting,’ she said nipping at his lower lip before adding, ‘husband.’

Ronon growled and dipped his head to her neck, she knew that wasn’t what he wanted, but with her pinned to his body he couldn’t reach the perked nipples still poking through her top. She wriggled in his arms, moving up his body, pushing her hands down on his shoulders until he managed to take the pink nub between his lips.

She groaned and wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him closer. His arms tightened around her waist as he pulled his mouth away from her swollen breasts.

‘Take it off,’ he grumbled at her and she uncurled her arms from him to take hold of the sides of the top and lifted it over her head. Before she had even dropped it in the water, his mouth was back on her attempting to take the whole of her breast into his mouth. ‘You’re amazing,’ he said moving deeper into the water and slipping his hands down her back to grip her backside.

‘You’re not so bad yourself,’ she said. Ronon released her breast with a pop and let her go dropping her completely into the water. She vanished under the surface with a squeal and he dove down and seized her lips while they were submerged.

His hands moved quickly firmly gripping certain parts of her body before he pulled the skirt down and let it float away. His own remaining clothes left next and she caught a glance at his solid and reddening erection before she had to surface for air.

He followed her up, his arms around her body once again knowing she wouldn’t be able to touch the floor while he could. His lips were on hers again more urgently than before and he didn’t give her much time to take in a breath or get comfortable before he slipped his length into her.

She moaned loudly her arms once again around his neck and she pulled him close forcing his face against her chest. The scent from the bowl filled her nostrils again and a surge of pleasure rushed through her. She flexed around him and instantly felt his nails against her back for a moment before he once again moved them down to her ass.

His strong grip guided her, moving her easily along his length in the water. He shifted, changing the angle of his penetration and hitting just the right spot to make her completely lose control. Elizabeth tightened her legs around his hips and forced herself completely down on his length until it felt like he was in new territory.

Her muscles gripped him tightly and she dropped her head back to the water’s surface as she screamed out the pleasure he caused her. Ronon supported her back as best he could as she once again milked the life from his engorged member, he could feel his seed flowing out in short bursts. His head had dropped forward as she had dropped back and he was watching the short thrusts he was attempting to make inside her and the small shuddering stomach above.

She went limp in his arms and knew he would momentarily think she had passed out like she had last week. He pulled from her depth, still supporting her and moved around to the side to pull her close. She let out a deep sigh and opened her eyes to gaze at him.

‘Hey beautiful,’ he said with a smile, ‘don’t scare me like that.’

She smiled, letting him pull her close to his shoulder and start dripping extra water over her stomach.

‘I’m sorry,’ she whispered, ‘you always feel like heaven. Is it getting cold?’

‘A little,’ he said, ‘let’s get you home.’

‘We don’t have one,’ she said as he turned and carried her back to the shore.

‘There’s a tent over there for us to live in tomorrow.’

Silence fell between them, a comfortable silence like nothing Elizabeth had ever experienced; she was completely at peace for the first time in her life. Ronon carried her back to the sand and made his way to the tent, she closed her eyes as they reached it and he stepped carefully backwards into it. He turned towards the bed and stopped.

‘What are they?’ He asked sitting her on the end of the bed. She opened her eyes and turned to what he was looking at.

In the middle of the large bed sat a small box, the lid was opened and standing tall in the velvet cushion were two gold rings.

‘They’re wedding bands,’ she said smiling and reached out for the small box.

A close look at the rings showed a small handmade engraving of the Earth symbol on the top. She pulled the larger of the two out and stood up in front of Ronon.

‘On Earth, during a wedding it’s customary to exchange rings, simple gold bands just like these to indicate marriage,’ she reached out and took hold of his left hand and raised it up. ‘It’s also a sign to other men, or women, that you are taken, so they don’t start making a move on you.’

She carefully slipped the band onto his ring finger and looked back up at him; he gave her a small smile before reaching down to pick the box up from the bed again. Her eyes followed as he pulled the small band from the box, took her left hand and eased the cool metal into place.

‘Now I’m married to you in two cultures,’ he said with a grin.

‘Yes you are,’ she said returning the smile and feeling the need for sleep overwhelm her. It must have showed because Ronon moved to pull the covers back before holding out his hand for her. He helped her into the bed before climbing in and wrapping his arms around her.

He snuggled close, kissed her neck and sighed against her skin as they listened to the sound of a party still going on in the Athosian village. It wasn’t long before Elizabeth felt herself drifting off to an easy sleep and she pulled all her strength into saying goodnight.

‘I love you,’ she whispered.


End file.
